MELBOURNE, Australia — Lorenzo Musetti has traded his trademark long hair for a fresh cut, and it may already be bringing him good luck at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old Italian, seeded No. 16, fought through a demanding first-round match to defeat fellow countryman Matteo Arnaldi in four sets: 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. The match lasted four hours and six minutes.
Gone is Musetti’s iconic man bun and shoulder-length hair, often seen tucked under a backward cap during tournaments like Wimbledon and the Davis Cup. His new short haircut made its Grand Slam debut at Melbourne Park.
“For now, the short hair had a good start in Australia. Let’s hope it can bring me luck,” Musetti said after the match. “It’s a new look. But if I hadn’t had such long hair for so long, people probably wouldn’t have noticed.”
Fans, however, did notice. Social media lit up with reactions to his transformed hairstyle. Musetti said it’s the shortest his hair has been since he was 15 years old—shorter even than when he won the Australian Open junior boys’ title at age 16.
“I’m getting old,” he joked, “so I am trying to look younger.”
The win marked a milestone for Musetti, who had never advanced past the second round in his three previous appearances in Melbourne. His hard-fought victory over the 39th-ranked Arnaldi was closer than the score suggests—he only won eight more points overall, 169 to 161.
“It was quite a long match… Honestly, it could have gone either way,” Musetti said. “I am proud to have won, despite not playing my best tennis. When you play your best, it’s easy to win. These are the matches that help you grow and mature.”
Musetti, a Wimbledon semifinalist and Olympic bronze medalist in 2023, will look to build on this strong start as he progresses through the tournament—with or without his old hairstyle.
