The golden age of Italian tennis. When the almanacs of this era are leafed through in 50 years, there will be a flag on display: that of Italy. The sport which, at the end of the 90s and until the advent of the Fab Four, seemed mainly an all-American issue (from Sampras to Agassi, passing through Courier and, on the female side, the Williams sisters, in more recent times) today seems to have changed masters. And the Azzurri are at the helm. Lorenzo Musetti’s entry into the World Top Fiveat the beginning of 2026 (Ranking in hand is the fourth strongest Italian ever in terms of placing behind His Majesty Jannik Sinner, Adriano Panatta and Nicola Pietrangeli), is the best way to continue on the path dug in recent times.
From Fognini to Sinner and his brothers
For a few years, the scepter of national number one was held tightly in the hands of Fabio Fognini, the first Italian in history to win a Master 1000 (in Monte Carlo) with his ups and downs of character but with a little arm that would be the envy of the phenomena. At the same time, the Italian women’s team took off: from the Slam winners Francesca Schiavone (Roland Garros, in 2010) and Flavia Pennetta (US Open) to those who came very close to the most precious goal such as Roberta Vinci (Serena Williams’ executioner in the year of Pennetta’s US success, in the final against her) and Sara Errani, up to Jasmine Paolini, also one step away from the Slam dream. Returning to the men’s group, the post-Fognini era represented the consecration of Italian tennis: first Matteo Berrettini (finalist at Wimbledon and for a while in the Top 10) and then Jannik Sinner, surrounded by other phenomena such as Flavio Cobolli and above all Lorenzo Musetti, who is even climbing the elite and has placed himself on the fifth step. Not to mention the Olympic medals, in singles and doubles, and the triumphs in the Davis Cup, both men’s and women’s. Numbers that risk slipping away without making any noise, because it is now a country addicted to great tennis. But this is our golden age and we must enjoy it, it will not be eternal. And that almanac from 2076 will prove it.