I am aware that not everyone follows tennis and those who do are not as passionate and informed about it as they are for the main sports. But in Italy in the last year a real craze has broken out. Today, with Djokovic‘s withdrawal from the Rolland Garros tournament [which is taking place these days] and with Sinner’s access to the semi-final, the top of the rankings is painted by the Italian flag.It is even the first time for Italy that a player has won first place.In the past in Italy we have very good players like Pietrangeli and Panatta who however had marginal victories and only for a few years. Sinner, on the other hand, has not only surpassed the previous Italian champions in terms of number of trophies but is also only 22 years old.
I’m a member of a Padel group in my city and a minute after Sinner’s victory they went wild cheering, posting images and messages.It must be said that Padel itself has also contributed to bringing many closer to tennis. I don’t know if some people know this sport but in recent years it has become popular among young people and even among the less young. It is obviously a pseudo tennis with glass walls where the ball can bounce.
Returning to tennis, I can say that it is a joy to see an Italian tennis player who is first in the world because in this country there is almost nothing other than football. You just need to buy a sports newspaper to see that only football exists. There are rare times that the front page is filled with victories by Italians in other sports and not because there is a lack of champions… I believe, but I could also be wrong, that in other countries like the USA there are many more sports practiced and followed: football (obviously) but also basketball, baseball and hockey.In Italy all other sports are very marginal.
[article by Gabriele Romano]
° BLOG ° Gabriele Romano 
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