Italian tennis has never reached a higher peak in its history.
This year, Italy became the first country to win the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup for two consecutive years. The Davis Cup team also became the first since the USA in 1972 to win three straight editions of the tournament.
On the women’s side, two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini leads the way, and she will continue to be a contender at major events in 2026.
On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner has dominated on the ATP Tour for the past two years alongside Carlos Alcaraz. Other Italian players, such as Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli, have also enjoyed excellent 2025 campaigns, with Cobolli playing a key role in Italy’s Davis Cup victory.
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
Sinner, a winner of four Grand Slam titles, has led the charge for Italian tennis in recent years. However, is he the player who first put Italian men’s tennis on the map?
Flavia Pennetta says Fabio Fognini broke the wall for Italian men’s tennis before Jannik Sinner
Fabio Fognini, the former world number nine retired from his playing career on July 9 this year.
The enigmatic Italian, known for his superb play and often boisterous character, has been praised by his wife Flavia Pennetta in an interview with Italian outlet Corriere della Sera.
Pennetta, formerly the WTA’s sixth-best tennis player, won the US Open in 2015 and immediately called time on her career.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Pennetta has claimed that her achievement of entering the WTA top 10 broke a wall for women’s tennis players in Italy.
She has also claimed that Fognini did the same for Italian men’s tennis, before Jannik Sinner.
“I broke a wall, for all Italian women: it’s no coincidence that, from then on, we girls began a cycle,” Pennetta said.
“If Flavia could do it, we can do it too, was the message.
“It’s a bit like the effect Sinner is having on men today. But that wall, for men, was broken by Fabio, my husband, not Jannik.”
‘An incredibly kind and generous person’
Fabio Fognini announced his retirement from tennis in July following his titanic five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon first round.
Claudio Pistolesi, the former world number 71, reflected on the time he has spent with his compatriot.
“If you don’t know Fabio very well, you want to strangle him,” Pistolesi told the ATP Tour while laughing.
“But I have known him intimately since he was a boy and I guarantee you he is an incredibly kind and generous person. What some people might call an attitude actually comes from his shyness.
“And the walk, well, that is very Italian. At least it has style.”
