Tennis in Italy is governed by the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation and in 2012 it was the 6th sport by number of practitioners, with 1,298,000 people.[1]

Jannik Sinner is currently the top Italian player in the ATP rankings.
Jasmine Paolini is currently the top Italian player in the WTA rankings.

History

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One Italian player, Jannik Sinner, has been men's singles world No. 1 (ATP ranking).

Five Italian players have won Grand Slam tournaments: Nicola Pietrangeli (1959 and 1960 French Championships), Adriano Panatta (1976 French Open), Francesca Schiavone (2010 French Open), Flavia Pennetta (2015 US Open) and Jannik Sinner (2024 Australian Open and 2024 US Open).

Four Italian players have won an olympic medal: Uberto De Morpurgo and Lorenzo Musetti won a bronze medal in the men's singles, respectively in 1924 and 2024, and the Sara ErraniJasmine Paolini duo won a gold medal in the women's doubles, again in 2024.

The men's national team won the Davis Cup two times (1976 and 2023) and the women's national team won the Fed Cup four times (2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013).

Women's tennis in particular has seen tremendous successes in the 21st century, with the advent of Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci. All four of these women reached the top 10 of the WTA rankings in both singles and doubles (with Schiavone and Errani reaching the top 5 in singles and Pennetta, Errani and Vinci reaching No 1 in doubles), and reached Grand Slam finals in both disciplines. Schiavone and Pennetta won singles Grand Slam titles, while Pennetta, Errani and Vinci won doubles Grand Slam titles, with Errani and Vinci achieving the Career Grand Slam in doubles as a pair. They were also responsible for Italy's 4 Fed Cup victories as members of the national Fed Cup team.

Players best singles ranking

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In this table only those who have reached the top 20 in the world singles ranking.

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Updated as of 13 July 2024. Data refer to the Open Era (from 1968).[2]

# Player Rank Achieved Grand Slam best ATP titles
1 Jannik Sinner 1 10 June 2024 Win2024 Australian Open, 2024 US Open 16
2 Adriano Panatta 4 24 August 1976 Win1976 French Open 10
3 Matteo Berrettini 6 31 January 2022 F2021 Wimbledon 10
4 Corrado Barazzutti 7 21 August 1978 SF1977 US Open, 1978 French Open 5
5 Fabio Fognini 9 15 July 2019 QF2011 French Open 9
6 Paolo Bertolucci 12 23 August 1973 QF1973 French Open 6
7 Lorenzo Musetti 15 26 June 2023 SF2024 Wimbledon 2
8 Marco Cecchinato 16 25 February 2019 SF2018 French Open 3
9 Andreas Seppi 18 28 January 2013 4R2012 French Open, 2013 Wimbledon,
Australian Open (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018)
3
Omar Camporese 18 10 February 1992 4R1992 Australian Open 3
Andrea Gaudenzi 18 27 February 1995 4R1994 French Open 2
12 Renzo Furlan 19 15 April 1996 QF1995 French Open 2

Women

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# Player Rank Achieved Grand Slam best WTA titles
1 Francesca Schiavone 4 31 January 2011 Win2010 French Open 8
2 Sara Errani 5 20 May 2013 F2012 French Open 9
Jasmine Paolini 5 15 July 2024 F2024 French Open, 2024 Wimbledon 2
3 Flavia Pennetta 6 28 September 2015 Win2015 US Open 11
4 Roberta Vinci 7 9 May 2016 F2015 US Open 10
6 Silvia Farina 11 20 May 2002 QF2003 Wimbledon 3
7 Raffaella Reggi 13 25 April 1988 QF1987 French Open 5
8 Sandra Cecchini 15 14 March 1988 QF1985 French Open 11
9 Martina Trevisan 18 8 May 2023 SF2022 French Open 1

Grand slam best singles results

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Eleven Italian tennis players played at least the semi-final in a Grand Slam tournament.[3]

Player Tournament Result
Umberto De Morpurgo 1930 French Championships Semifinal
Giorgio De Stefani 1932 French Championships Final
1934 French Championships Semifinal
Giuseppe Merlo 1955 French Championships Semifinal
1956 French Championships Semifinal
Nicola Pietrangeli 1959 French Championships Win
1960 French Championships Win
1961 French Championships Final
1964 French Championships Final
1960 Wimbledon Championships Semifinal
Orlando Sirola 1960 French Championships Semifinal
Adriano Panatta 1973 French Open Semifinal
1975 French Open Semifinal
1976 French Open Win
Corrado Barazzutti 1977 US Open Semifinal
1978 French Open Semifinal
Marco Cecchinato 2018 French Open Semifinal
Matteo Berrettini 2019 US Open Semifinal
2021 Wimbledon Championships Final
2022 Australian Open Semifinal
Jannik Sinner 2023 Wimbledon Championships Semifinal
2024 Australian Open Win
2024 French Open Semifinal
2024 US Open Win
Lorenzo Musetti 2024 Wimbledon Championships Semifinal

Women

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Flavia Pennetta, last Italian female winner of a Grand Slam tournament, in 2015.

Nine Italian female tennis players have reached at least the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament.[4][5]

Player Tournament Result
Maud Rosenbaum Levi 1930 U. S. National Championships Semifinal
Annalisa Ullstein Bossi Bellani 1949 French International Championships Semifinal
Silvana Lazzarino 1954 French International Championships Semifinal
Francesca Schiavone 2010 French Open Win
2011 French Open Final
Sara Errani 2012 French Open Final
2012 US Open Semifinal
2013 French Open Semifinal
Flavia Pennetta 2013 US Open Semifinal
2015 US Open Win
Roberta Vinci 2015 US Open Final
Martina Trevisan 2022 French Open Semifinal
Jasmine Paolini 2024 French Open Final
2024 Wimbledon Championships Final

All tournament winners in Open Era

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Male

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As of 9 September 2024, 96 tournaments have been won by 28 Italian tennis players in the major circuit.

  Still active

Female

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As of 30 July 2023, 78 tournaments have been won by 21 Italian tennis players in the major circuit.

  Still active

Italian wins against the Current World's Number 1

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Male

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Nine Italian tennis players managed to beat the current number 1 in the world.

# Date Player Tournament Tier Surface Current World's N.1 Score
1 17 May 1974 Corrado Barazzutti Munich, West Germany 250 series Clay   Ilie Năstase 6–3, 6–7, 6–1
2 9 November 1975 Adriano Panatta Stockholm, Sweden Masters 1000 Carpet   Jimmy Connors 4–6, 6–3, 7–5
3 18 April 1977 Adriano Panatta Houston, United States 250 series Clay   Jimmy Connors 6–1, 7–5
4 15 June 2000 Gianluca Pozzi Queen's, Great Britain 250 series Grass   Andre Agassi 4–6, 3–2 ret.
5 10 May 2007 Filippo Volandri Rome, Italy Masters 1000 Clay   Roger Federer 6–3, 6–4
6 16 May 2017 Fabio Fognini Rome, Italy Masters 1000 Clay   Andy Murray 6–2, 6–4
7 30 October 2020 Lorenzo Sonego Vienna, Austria 500 series Hard (i)   Novak Djokovic 6–2, 6–1
8 31 March 2023 Jannik Sinner Miami, United States Masters 1000 Hard   Carlos Alcaraz 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–2
9 13 April 2023 Lorenzo Musetti Monte-Carlo, Monaco Masters 1000 Clay   Novak Djokovic 4–6, 7–5, 6–4
10 14 November 2023 Jannik Sinner Turin, Italy ATP Finals Hard (i)   Novak Djokovic 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–2)
11 25 November 2023 Jannik Sinner Malaga, Spain Davis Cup Hard (i)   Novak Djokovic 6–2, 2–6, 7–5
12 26 January 2024 Jannik Sinner Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Hard   Novak Djokovic 6–1, 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 6–3
13 11 March 2024 Luca Nardi Indian Wells, United States Masters 1000 Hard   Novak Djokovic 6–4, 3–6, 6–3

Female

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Four Italian tennis players managed to beat the current number 1 in the world.

# Date Player Tournament Tier Surface Current World's N.1 Score
1 26 May 2004 Tathiana Garbin Paris, France Grand Slam Clay   Justine Henin 7–5, 6–4
2 23 April 2006 Francesca Schiavone Nancy, France Billie Jean King Cup Clay   Amélie Mauresmo 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–4
3 28 February 2008 Francesca Schiavone Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tier II Series Hard   Justine Henin 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4)
4 16 October 2008 Flavia Pennetta Zurich, Switzerland Tier II Series Hard (i)   Jelena Janković 5–7, 6–3, 6–3
5 10 August 2011 Roberta Vinci Toronto, Canada Premier 5 Hard   Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 7–5
6 7 October 2011 Flavia Pennetta Beijing, China Premier Mandatory Hard (i)   Caroline Wozniacki 3–6, 6–0, 7–6(7–2)
7 11 September 2015 Roberta Vinci New York, United States Grand Slam Hard   Serena Williams 2–6, 6–4, 6–4

All-Italian finals in Open Era

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Male

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There were seven all-Italian finals in Open Era in the ATP Tour.[6]

#    Date    Tournament Venue Tier Surface Winner Runner-up Result
1 May 1974 Florence Open   Florence C events Clay Adriano Panatta Paolo Bertolucci 6–4, 6–1
2 July 1976 Swedish Open   Båstad Three-star events Clay Tonino Zugarelli Corrado Barazzutti 4–6, 7–5, 6–2
3 March 1980 Cairo Open   Cairo Grand Prix Clay Corrado Barazzutti Paolo Bertolucci 4–6, 7–5, 6–2
4 April 1987 Hypo Group Tennis International   Bari Grand Prix Clay Claudio Pistolesi Francesco Cancellotti 6–7, 7–5, 6–3
5 May 1988 Florence Open   Florence Grand Prix Clay Massimiliano Narducci Claudio Panatta 3–6. 6–1, 6–4
6 Feb 2021 Great Ocean Road Open   Melbourne 250 Series Hard Jannik Sinner Stefano Travaglia 7–6(7–4), 6–4
7 Oct 2022 Tennis Napoli Cup   Naples 250 Series Hard Lorenzo Musetti Matteo Berrettini 7–6(7–5), 6–2

Female

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#    Date    Tournament Venue Tier Surface Winner Runner-up Result
1 May 1985 Spanish Open   Barcelona WTA $50,000 Clay Sandra Cecchini Raffaella Reggi 6–3, 6–4
2 July 1990 Estoril Open   Oeiras WTA Tier V Clay Federica Bonsignori Laura Garrone 2–6, 6–3, 6–3
3 July 1991 San Marino Open   City of San Marino WTA Tier V Clay Katia Piccolini Silvia Farina 6–2, 6–3
4 March 2003 Morocco Open   Casablanca WTA Tier V Clay Rita Grande Antonella Serra Zanetti 6–2, 4–6, 6–1
5 February 2007 Copa Colsanitas   Bogotá WTA Tier III Clay Roberta Vinci Tathiana Garbin 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 0–3 ret.
6 July 2009 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo   Palermo WTA International Clay Flavia Pennetta Sara Errani 6–1, 6–2
7 April 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open   Barcelona WTA International Clay Francesca Schiavone Roberta Vinci 6–1, 6–1
8 February 2012 Abierto Mexicano Telcel   Acapulco WTA International Clay Sara Errani Flavia Pennetta 5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–0
9 July 2013 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo   Palermo WTA International Clay Roberta Vinci Sara Errani 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
10 May 2015 Nürnberger Cup   Nürnberg WTA International Clay Karin Knapp Roberta Vinci 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–1
11 September 2015 US Open   New York City Grand Slam Hard Flavia Pennetta Roberta Vinci 7-6, 6-2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Graduatoria degli sport più praticati in Italia" (PDF) (in Italian). coni.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  2. ^ "QUANTI ITALIANI SONO ENTRATI NEI TOP 50? RISPONDE L'ESPERTO" (in Italian). supertennis.tv. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Marco Cecchinato è l'ottavo giocatore nella storia del tennis italiano ad approdare in una semifinale Slam" (in Italian). superlivetennis.it. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  4. ^ "I migliori risultati delle azzurre nei tornei dello Slam". federtennis.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. ^ "VINCI-PENNETTA Tutti i numeri di un'impresa". federtennis.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  6. ^ "ATP: SINNER-TRAVAGLIA, SETTIMO DERBY AZZURRO IN FINALE. I PRECEDENTI" (in Italian). federtennis.it. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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