"Perhaps a different decision could have been made, other than freezing points"- Matteo Berrettini's coach on absence of ranking points at Wimbledon 2022

Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the Miami Open earlier this year to undergo minor surgery on his right hand. This also forced him to skip the French Open. He returned to action at the Stuttgart Open with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win against Radu Albot on Wednesday.

The Italian has been quietly putting in the work with his coach Vincenzo Santopadre away from the limelight, hoping to play as many matches as possible to get back to his best form ahead of the upcoming Wimbledon Championships.

In a recent interview with a local newsline, Santopadre shared his thoughts on Wimbledon and how the iconic event helped players like Matteo Berrettini get noticed by fans around the globe.

"The charm of Wimbledon is indisputable. It is a special place for him where he left so many good memories. Even the less passionate about this sport discovered Matteo thanks to the results obtained at Wimbledon,” Santopadre said.

On the ATP's decision to strip the Wimbledon Championships of ranking points following the grasscourt Major's ban on Russian and Belarusian players, Santopadre said the players have to accept that the ban is highly unlikely to be overturned.

"Wimbledon is a tournament that makes its own history. To date, I tell you that perhaps a different decision could have been made, other than freezing the points. It’s not easy to change your mind about an event of this magnitude that has instilled in your DNA a very different mentality than others. I strongly doubt that they'll change their mind," Satopadre said.

Matteo Berrettini will drop out of the top 20 even if he wins Stuttgart Open, Queen's and Wimbledon

Matteo Berrettini at the BNP Paribas Open - Day 7

Since points will not be awarded at this year's Wimbledon Championships, Matteo Berrettini stands to lose a lot.

The Italian will not be able to defend the 1200 points he got by reaching the Wimbledon final last year, meaning he will move out of the top 20 even if he wins in Stuttgart and Queen's, where he is scheduled to play next.

Berrettini currently has 3,805 points, but will drop 2,275 (360 from last year's Roland Garros, 125 from his Stuttgart triumph in 2019, 500 from winning Queen's last year, 1200 from his run to the Wimbledon final last year and 90 from 2019 Halle) over the next few weeks.

Berrettini's coach, however, decided to look at the positive side of the situation.

"To cultivate a winning mentality, you need to be able to see the glass half full. Losing all these points meant Matteo had collected them and enjoyed the results. He can improve even more and repeat what he did last year. There is no concern under these terms," Santopadre said, adding, "Points are made by attacking and we are never on the defensive. Using football Jargon, our tactic is to score goals and not concede them."

Matteo Berrettini will be back in action on Friday when he takes on Lorenzo Sonego in the Stuttgart Open quarterfinals.