Italy has recently shown dominance in the world of tennis, winning both the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup for the second consecutive year. The women’s team consists of Lucia Bronzetti, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. The men’s team consisted of Filippo Volandri, Jannik Sinner, Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli and many more.
Both of these impressive teams boast players ranked in the top ten world ATP ranking. Probably the most well known player of these two teams is the number one world globally ranked player: Jannik Sinner. Sinner has achieved the most prestigious rank in the world of tennis, breaking barriers at almost every single tournament in which he competes, as well as previous records held by tennis greats like Federer or Djokovic. He is the only player to ever win two Grand Slams, two ATP Finals, and one Davis cup in the same season, all while being ranked number one in the world. He has consistently beaten world legends of the game, such as the newly famous Alcaraz, and Nadal, one of the greatest ever to play.
Last month, Nadal announced his retirement, breaking the hearts of millions all over the world, as well as signaling the start of the “next generation” of players to rise through the ranks in the world of tennis. His last time touching the racket was during the Davis Cup that unfortunately ended in a heartbreaking loss against the Netherlands, with a score of one to two. Italy ended up not playing Spain during this past Davis Cup, although a few of the Italian players were seen watching the match either on their cell phones or live streaming on a nearby television, witnessing the end of a very historic tennis period.
In addition to the Men’s team, the Italian National Women’s team is stacked with talented players, with the likes of Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani. Paolini is currently ranked number four in the WTA rankings. During the past summer Olympics, the doubles team of Paolini and Errani ended up achieving the most prestigious feat ever: winning, for the first time in Italy’s history, a doubles tennis gold medal.
Both of these tournaments were passionately fought on both sides, women’s and men’s. These resilient and extremely talented teams were forced to go up against tough competitors and persevered to win. The best example of this can be seen during the men’s semifinal of the Davis Cup, when Italy came back from being down one – zero against the Argentinian team. The Argentine Francisco Cerundolo played a very impressive and important role, beating Musetti in two consecutive sets four to six and one to six, giving Argentina the one – zero lead, with Sinner needing to secure a win for Italy to have a chance to fight for the Cup. Sinner, as expected, won that set, bringing the match to one-one, with the doubles match needing to be played in order to see who would move on to the finals. The surprising doubles team of Sinner and Berettini ended up giving Italy the lead with two straight-set wins, securing a place in the finals. These results signal a new period in tennis history, with Italy on the rise in popularity, talent and fame.
