‘Everyone is crazy about tennis’: Sinner’s success inspires Italy to pick up rackets
Share:
Italians are taking to the court with factors including the pandemic and broadcasting also said to be fuelling enthusiasm. At the age of 47, diehard AC Milan fan Ninni Licata has hung up his football boots in exchange for a tennis racket. Like thousands of Italians in recent years, Licata has been unable to resist the lure of a game that for years had been relegated to the sidelines of the country’s national sports, overshadowed by football and Formula One.
![[Ninni Licata stands at the baseline on a red clay court with his racket poised; he wears a fluorescent yellow windcheater jacket and dark blue tracksuit trousers ]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d447709ce0738a768b3f26ba1dcf5044b9a42962/0_130_1063_638/master/1063.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Tennis is now witnessing a renaissance in Italy, led by the world men’s No 1, Jannik Sinner, born in South Tirol, who is followed by a cohort of young, talented players now climbing towards the top of the game. The rise of the sport has also left national television at a crossroads, broadcasters at times grappling with whether to show live matches of the country’s football team or ATP tournaments.
![[Antonio Tarantino stands holding his racket in front of the net on a red clay tennis court; he is smiling and wears a bright red T-shirt over black long-sleeved top and black shorts]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/baf5d9353290a8345e2224c2947874fdca37f028/109_137_992_1226/master/992.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
There are nine Italian male players ranked inside the ATP top 100. Italy last month won the Davis Cup for the second year in a row, while the women’s team secured the Billie Jean King Cup. The percentage of Italians following tennis has surged to 39%, nearly doubling since 2016. According to a survey by the leading sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, children’s tennis club enrolments have risen by 30% in 2024 alone. In 2001, the total number of tennis players registered in clubs was just 129,000; today, registrations have surpassed a million.
“It’s sad when I think about how much time I wasted on football when I could have invested that time into starting tennis much earlier,” says Licata. “Sometimes, while grocery shopping, I catch myself simulating forehand and backhand movements among the food shelves. I must look like a madman to those watching from the outside.”.
