Lorenzo Musetti has suffered another injury setback as he continues his very disrupted 2026 season.
Musetti had the best season of his career in 2025, particularly during the clay court season where he reached at least the semi-finals of every tournament he played.
This enabled the Italian to reach a career-high ranking of world number five at the start of the 2026 season, before Musetti suffered a thigh injury when leading Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open quarter-finals. This thigh injury has since caused Musetti to withdraw from Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Musetti dropped to world number 25 after the US Open, and he was hoping to start building his ranking back up during the Asian swing. However, this has not got off to a good start as a new injury has forced him to withdraw from the Japan Open.
Lorenzo Musetti reveals that he suffered hand injury during practice
Musetti has released a statement on social media to reveal that he suffered a small fracture in the ring finger of his right hand. The 24-year-old expressed his disappointment at not being able to compete in Tokyo, but Musetti stated that he was still planning to compete at the Shanghai Masters.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play in Tokyo this year due to a small fracture in the ring finger of my right hand that I sustained during practice,” Musetti wrote on Instagram.
“I’m very disappointed, especially because I couldn’t wait to get back to playing in front of my Japanese fans and experience the wonderful atmosphere of Tokyo once again.
“I will do everything I can in the next few days to recover and be ready to play in Shanghai. Thank you all for your support and for the many messages. I hope to see you very soon. See you soon, Japan!”
Musetti will be hoping to rediscover some form and fitness before the end of the year, as he is at risk of dropping even further down the rankings if he does not.
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Lorenzo Musetti’s replacement confirmed as Arthur Fery has new opponent in Japan
While this is not good news for Musetti, it has potentially given a boost for British number one Arthur Fery’s chances at the Japan Open.
While Fery would not be wishing injury on his opponents, he did recently lose to Musetti in the first round of the US Open and would be the underdog if they played again in Tokyo.
Instead, Musetti has now been replaced by lucky loser Jaime Faria. Faria has been enjoying a breakout season in 2026.
Faria has beaten the likes of Ben Shelton this year and is now on the brink of making his top 60 debut, which he would achieve if he beats Fery.
It will be a first-time meeting between Fery and Faria at the Japan Open, which will take place on Thursday, October 1.
