Berrettini’s only previous retirement from a Grand Slam match was at the 2023 US Open.
He also made an early exit from the 2021 ATP Tour Finals because of an abdominal injury, while last season he had to pull out midway through matches in Madrid and Rome in the run-up to the French Open.
But the former world number six, who had missed the previous four French Opens because of injury problems, is determined to take the positives from reaching a seventh Grand Slam quarter-final in his first outing at Roland Garros since 2021.
Now ranked 105th, he added: “I have to take the good stuff that I did in this tournament, because a few weeks ago or a few days ago, it would have been crazy to think about me in the quarter-finals, and so I’ll try to go back home with a smile on my face.
“It’s going to be tough but that’s how I like to approach these two weeks, and of course I’m disappointed, I’m sad, but I’m also proud of the way I fought through this tournament.”
Speaking on court after his win, Arnaldi said: “You never wish for someone to end the tournament like this.
“He did an amazing tournament. I am sorry for him and I hope he recovers because soon it is the grass and he is going to be very tough to play.”
Arnaldi, ranked 104th in the world, is the lowest-ranked male player to reach a French Open singles semi-final since Filip Dewulf did so in 1997 when ranked 122nd.
He will play another Italian, 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final.