The Italian will survive without Sinner

Italy has never been the global tennis powerhouse and excellence that it is today. It has never had a world number one, but it is not only that; it would also be too short-sighted to describe Jannik Sinner as a pearl in the desert. Rather, the rise of the South Tyrolean is the culmination and at the same time the driving force behind a wider phenomenon and an unprecedented era for our rackets. This is confirmed by the record that opened the year 2025, which would have been unthinkable until a few years ago: the presence of 11 Italian athletes in the top 100 of the ATP rankings (men's singles), more than any other country.

The growth of the movement in recent times is impressive, even if it has been partially overshadowed by its brightest star; and it is not limited to tournaments and rankings, but is also reflected in the great successes away from the limelight. The fact that the system is now recognised worldwide as a benchmark is due to a combination of factors: the depth and spread of talent at all levels and in all categories (men's, women's, singles, doubles, youth, amateur), the foundations on which the project was built and the next ambitious challenges set by the government of Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP).

Now that Sinner, as agreed with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), is forced to inactivity for 90 days after his positive Clostebol confirmation, it is time to look at the current renaissance of Italian tennis differently. That is, to temporarily put aside the troublesome presence of Sinner, who for obvious reasons attracts much of the public and media attention, and focus more on everything else in the pyramid of the Italian movement. This already proved its worth last summer at the Olympic Games, where the Italian selection team returned from Paris with two medals in their pockets despite the South Tyrolean's absence.

There is life beyond Sinner

Sinner's exceptional status aside, the growth of recent years is not the result of chance, but of virtuous planning. Under Binaghi's leadership, Italian tennis - unlike other sports - has become an example of planning and foresight in investment, of organic and sustainable growth. The FITP has focussed heavily on Challenger tournaments and local competitions, on projects for younger players such as the Junior Next Gen (under 10/12/14 years) and on reducing the costs of amateur and professional training. In general, the aim was to create an environment where people no longer have to travel abroad - with the associated costs and “barriers” - to perform. Thanks to the introduction of a television channel (SuperTennis), which is sponsored by the association itself, visibility has also improved somewhat.

The results are all there to see. LorenzoMusetti, bronze medallist at the last Olympics, is 17th in the world rankings (he has also reached 15th place). Matteo Arnaldi, Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Sonego and Flavio Cobolli are all ranked between 30th and 40th; and the youngsters Luciano Darderi (61), Mattia Bellucci (70, after two strong performances against Medvedev and Tsitsipas), Luca Nardi (85) and Francesco Passaro (90) can also be found in the lower places. The picture for the men is completed by the “veteran” Fabio Fognini (95, aged 37), but also by the presence of Andrea Vavassori (7) and Simone Bolelli (8) in the top 10 doubles.

There was also a considerable leap in quality in the women's category. Jasmine Paolini reached two consecutive Slam finals and the fourth position in the WTA rankings (she is now sixth), thus completing a movement that is completed by the top 100 presence of Lucia Bronzetti (62) and Elisabetta Cocciaretto (71). It's no coincidence that the Italtennis girls are defending champions at the Billie Jean King Cup and brought us an Olympic doubles gold medal last summer with Paolini and Errani (the latter also won the 2024 US Open mixed with Vavassori).

And then there are the youngsters. Italy has four of the 15 best U23 players in the world and numerous up-and-coming talents at junior level. The names of Pierluigi Basile and above all Federico “Pallino” Cinà stand out, who are not even too hidden candidates to challenge the national supremacy - and not just that of Jannik Sinner. However, the list could grow in the coming years, given the continuity with which the movement produces talent and the recent investment in improving training programmes and facilities.

The numbers of tennis in Italy

At the same time, and as a direct consequence of this, sales of tennis - and padel, which has provided some momentumduring the pandemic - are exploding. According to the latest data, the industry is worth a total of 8.1 billion euros on Italian soil and contributes 1.2 billion euros a year to the state coffers in taxes and fees. Unsurprisingly, private investment has skyrocketed and many major sponsors have entered the business: Rolex, Lavazza and Banca Intesa, for example, have increased their presence, and traditional tennis sponsors will soon be joined by capital from emerging sectors such as betting and online streaming, artificial intelligence and technology products.

The growth in fans and players has skyrocketed since 2021, but it has much deeper roots. Suffice it to say that the number of members has risen from 129,000 at the start of the millennium to one million today, of which around a fifth will be in 2024 alone. An achievement that seemed out of this world in one of football's most important countries and has instead become a “normal” rate of growth. The gap with the national number one sport is still large, both in terms of popularity and turnover, but there is no doubt that tennis - which has passed the six and a half million mark - is now the second largest sport in Italy. All these figures open up new perspectives and legitimise ambitious horizons.

According to reports in recent days, the FITP has made an offer of more than half a billion euros to acquire the rights to the Madrid Open: not only a prestigious tournament on the circuit (Masters 1000), but also next to the Internazionali d'Italia on the calendar and therefore potentially strategic for positioning it as a potential venue for a new Slam tournament. In the meantime, Turin will continue to host the ATP Finals until 2030 after a record-breaking edition last December, and new options are being explored for Milan for the period after the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Italian tennis is also redefining its relationship with the fashion and lifestyle world. Sinner's collaboration with Gucci, for example, has brought his departures from the tennis court to screens around the world with a customised duffle bag. But there's much more than Sinner here too: Arnaldi is an ambassador for Golden Goose, Bellucci flanked C.P. Company's debut in the industry at the tournament in Rotterdam, Berrettini designed a capsule collection with Hugo Boss, Cobolli became part of the On team, you could go on. After all, tennis is no longer an elite sport, but a mass phenomenon that appeals to an ever larger and more heterogeneous audience. In less than a decade, fans of the game have almost doubled (from 22 per cent of the population in 2016 to 40 per cent today), the volume of business has increased tenfold and the great thing is that the generation that started it all still has many seasons ahead of it.

The Sinner legacy

Having described the omnipresence and growth of the movement behind its undisputed leader, it is good to emphasise once again, at a time when his popularity is waning due to the doping affair, that Sinner has been a real game changer for Italian tennis in recent years. While it is true that the results were - for the most part - at the same level even in his absence, there is no doubt that his path opened the doors wide for many talents who came with him or shortly after him. With the latest updates on his CV, one is quick to define the magnitude of his departure: reigning Australian Open two-time champion, 44 weeks as world number one (incidentally: he will remain so despite disqualification), eight titles won in 2024 (including two Slams), the “encore” with Italy in the Davis Cup (half a century after the only previous one, in 1976).

A title machine, in short. And also of money. If you add up the sports prizes (round-robin tournaments and exhibitions, such as the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh) and the sponsorship money (various types, including countless TV adverts), Sinner earned more than 41 million euros in 2024. And that is the starting point for an empire that will continue to grow: the 10-year deal with Nike - starting at 15 million per season - will turn Sinner and the recently spotted fox into a global brand, as other major 'signature' brands have already done; made-in-Italy brands - such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Alfa Romeo - are competing to associate themselves with his image; and the recent creation of Monaco-based Woolly Lemon has already marked the beginning of his independent image management, with the possible prospect of representing other athletes in the future.

The well-documented “Sinner effect” is the reflected light that the entire movement enjoys, on and off the court. Its rise to generational talent has made tennis a mainstream sport in Italy, dramatically increasing television viewing figures (remember the six and a half million viewers on Rai and Sky for the final in Turin or the three million on Eurosport for the one in Melbourne?), club memberships in the area (+30% of kids in the last twelve months) and revenue for the sector as a whole (the Internazionali d'Italia, for example, induced 600 million). On the other hand, it is also important to look at the dynamics in the opposite direction, and thus Sinner as a product (top product) of a system that works. That has favoured his success and that of so many others, and that in the coming months he can once again prove to the world that Italian tennis is not just Jannik Sinner.

And that, after the drought of the last few decades, we can even afford the “luxury” of not having to fear too much disparagement from the front pages of the circuit with a world number one who has been fixed for three months. After all, we're already used to that in 2024. In addition to all the successes already mentioned, the haul of titles he has collected around the world speaks for itself: Paolini in Dubai (Masters 1000), Berrettini in Marrakesh, Gstaad and Kitzbühel (250), Sonego in Winston-Salem (250), Darderi in Cordoba (250), plus the prestigious finals of Musetti and Paolini, the double victories of Errani, Vavassori and Bolelli and, last but not least, a leading role at the Olympics. It's almost dizzying to think that there is still plenty of room for growth.