Arnaldi eliminates Tiafoe in five sets, ending U.S. singles run at Roland Garros

Arnaldi eliminates Tiafoe in five sets, ending U.S. singles run at Roland Garros

Frances Tiafoe, the 19th seed, lost to Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the fourth round of the 2026 French Open, becoming the last American singles player eliminated at Roland Garros. Tiafoe had led two sets to one and held a double-break advantage at 4-1 in the fourth set before Arnaldi recovered to force a tiebreaker and eventually take the match in five.

The result ended a substantial American presence in the draw. Coco Gauff had entered as the defending women’s champion, while Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and others had represented the men’s field in the earlier rounds. Tiafoe had already shown considerable resilience en route to the fourth round, defeating Hubert Hurkacz in five sets and rallying from two sets down against Jaime Faria in the third round – a run that required him to contest three consecutive five-set matches at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

Tiafoe’s exit carried particular weight given the state of the men’s draw. Carlos Alcaraz withdrew before the tournament with a wrist injury, top seed Jannik Sinner was knocked out by Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and Novak Djokovic was upset by 19-year-old João Fonseca. Tiafoe had also reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2025 and the U.S. Open semifinals in 2022, and an American man has not won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open, nor the French Open since Michael Chang in 1989.

Arnaldi advances to the quarterfinals, where he will face Matteo Berrettini, a former Wimbledon finalist who defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo’s conqueror in straight sets on the same day.