Italian tennis is trending.

After the 2024 French Open that saw players from Italy reach three of the five major event finals – and with Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner ascending to become the first Italian to rank No. 1 in the world – tennis in Italy is even more a talk of the tennis world. 

The Professional Tennis Registry decided to check with PTR pro Anita Luetti of Milan, Italy to get the pulse of tennis in her home country.

“Surely the rise of Sinner and the other Italian players, like Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Musetti, Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli — it’s getting a lot of interest by so many people, so many kids and adults of all levels. Especially in the big cities like Turin, Milan, Rome, Naples and so on,” said Luetti, currently a coach at the Golarsa Tennis Academy in Milan.

Sinner, of course, is the torch bearer of Italian tennis after leading Italy to the Davis Cup title in late 2023 and winning his first major singles title at the Australian Open. By reaching the semifinals in Paris, he became the first Italian to rank No. 1 in the world.  Paolini became a new star on the WTA Tour by reaching the singles final, before losing to top seed Iga Swiatek. Paolini also reached the doubles final with fellow Italian Sara Errani, losing to Coco Gauff and Katarina Siniakova. Vacassori and Bolelli fought their way to the men’s doubles final before they were defeated by Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.

One of the main talking points with regard to Italian tennis is also the increased number of “Futures” and “Challenger” level tournaments, or “minor league” developmental events, that are held in Italy. Dozens of events on the $15,000 level and above provide easily accessible opportunities for up-and-coming Italian players to gain valuable match experience to move up the rankings. Arnaldi, for example, played 18 Challengers in Italy alone during the 2022 season that helped him crack into the Top 100 of the rankings. These events, spread out across Italy, also provide opportunities for fans to become more interested in tennis and be more motivated to play the sport. 

“You could stay the whole time in Italy and play tournaments, so for players who don’t like to travel a lot, they can stay in Italy,” said Sinner at the Miami Open earlier this year. “They can play from one tournament to the other one a lot basically in the same place. I think this is one thing what helps the Italian players.”

Added Luetti, “There has been an important increase in Challenger and Futures for women and men all over the country, but also there are so many great tournaments for younger players on the Tennis Europe Tour Under 10-12-14-16”

Luetti said that Italians doing so well on the world stage certainly inspires more people to play tennis, but it is not the only factor in why Italians specifically take up the sport.

“The reasons why many people decide to start playing tennis or restart practicing or taking lessons are various,” she said. “One of them is for sure the Italians doing well on the pro tour and also because they really like the sport and the competition. They want to get better every week a little more and achieve their goals.”

However, Luetti said that she has seen a noticeable increase in the number of PTR registered and certified coaches in Italy in recent years, to coincide with the increasing number of Italian players moving up the pro tennis ranks.

“As I can see there have been a lot of new PTR coaches and mainly young teachers and this is a great thing,” she said. “The best part of being a part of this PTR community is that there so many courses and so many chances to get along and connect with so many experienced coaches and so many nice events all around the world. The PTR courses and meetings are also very good and economical.”