The great success of the Rome Internationals

The 79th edition of the Internazionali d'Italia, the most important men's and women's tennis tournament in Italy, being part of the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000, ended yesterday. Beyond the pure sporting value, such an event is also of great importance for the related activities it generates in the area, leading to a large increase in foreign tourism, with the hotels and the entire city that benefit from it. The desire for sports and for a new start after two years of pandemic was strong and, as always, the tournament captured the attention of fans and not, offering a sporting spectacle of the highest level in one of the most evocative settings possible: the one offered from the city of Rome and the Foro Italico.

This great enthusiasm led to record numbers both from the point of view of the public and of the proceeds: Angelo Binaghi, President of the Federazione Italiana Tennis, announced in the final press conference of the tournament that the revenues from the ticket office have exceeded 16 million and the paying spectators are over 230 thousand, qualifying it as "the greatest result in the history of annual sporting events in our country". The FIT president then went on underlining how the entire revenue of the event – which exceeds 40 million euros – will be used for the purpose of bringing new tennis and padel courts where they lack. Therefore, record numbers to be proud of, according to Binaghi himself.

However, there was more for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. The encouraging economic and social profiles were also followed by a more glamorous dimension, from the scoreboard's draw carried out by the pool, to the presence of numerous VIPs in the stands. In fact, tennis has always been a symbol of elegance and it is not uncommon for such events to also attract famous people from other circles, such as the well-known passionate Fiorello or José Mourinho – that recently conquered the Conference League final with Roma – who even during his English experience in the Premier League had not missed the opportunity to attend the ATP Finals in London and the Queen's and Wimbledon tournaments and who also told of a nice chat with Fognini.

On the court, line judges, ball boys and the entire staff were dressed by the sports brand Joma which, after the agreement recently reached with the Federation, was also allowed to manage a large space entirely dedicated to the sale of various tennis and padel products. Lastly, the show offered by the players didn't betray the expectations of the public and the splendid context described above. As for the men's competition – unfortunately without Berrettini and Musetti – we witnessed a tournament full of emotions, starting with the performances and the victories of an idol like Wawrinka passing through the all-Italian clash between Fognini and Sinner – also present at the GucciCosmogonie event recently organized in Castel del Monte – to end with the victory number one thousand of Novak Djokovic's career and his final triumph (the sixth in Rome). Even on the women's side, with our players unfortunately stopped at the early stages, the tournament offered many exciting matches, finding its epilogue in the victory of the title by an Iga Świątek for whom it's more and more difficult to find words and increasingly dominating the female tennis scene. Thus, even this year Rome greets great tennis after having lived a great week of sports, in a splendid atmosphere of values and glamour.