ROMA (ITALPRESS) – “We once again monopolized the season. The movement is doing great. In addition to the Davis Cup, you should not forget the victory of the girls of the Billie Jean King Cup”. So Raffaella Reggi, former tennis player and current technical voice of Sky, on the extraordinary moment of Italian tennis, a few days from his 60th birthday in an interview issued to the agency Italpress.
“The fact that Sinner and Musetti did not play in Bologna, with just motives, further accounted for the team, which compacted and showed that there is no need for numbers 1 and 2 to win in national. The protagonists were Matteo (Berrettini) and Flavio (Cobolli) and I must say that especially Matteo always responded present, I would say that 11 victories in line in Davis are nothing bad. The hug between them was the postcard of a week in which the workers and a little everyone criticized this scorching Davis Cup, but the emotions of the matches of this competition keep all attacked in front of the television”, added the former blue tennis player.
Born in Faenza on 27 November 1965, Raffaella Reggi was the strongest player from 1998 to 2002, as a world leader (number 13), representing Italy. Become a professional in 1981, Romagnola was the first Italian tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament (Us Open 1986 double mixed with Sergio Casal): “I started playing my first Slam at the age of 16/17 and Vittorio Selmi, who at the time worked for the Atp, advised me to play the double mix because it would help me a lot in singular. Then came the beautiful victory at Us Open with Casal, after saving match points in the first rounds, against a world tennis icon like Navratilova, to which I took the third Slam of the season”.
Despite the Us Open title, the favorite Slam remains the Roland Garros: “Paris was a tournament that I loved so much because I was born on the red earth and was one of my favorite Slams, it was a little my first love.”.
Double mixed that has seen Italy protagonist both in 2024 and in 2025, with the triumph always at Us Open by Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori: “Andrea and Sara as a pair of blends are very strong, they compensate very well and have the right movements near the network. Sara as for the double is of another category, Andrea also with the semifinals of the Finals with Bolelli has proved to be a great double“.
Italy dominates the world tennis and dragged by an extraordinary Jannik Sinner. Four Slam finals, of which two won, and six Atp titles (Australian Open, Wimbledon, Atp 500 Beijing, Atp 500 Vienna, Masters 1000 Paris, Atp Finals) for the South Tyrolean, remained in the race for the first position in the world ranking, then went to Alcaraz, despite the three months of suspension linked to the Clostebol story: “It has done a titanic enterprise, succeeding in playing the world’s first position and I think it has incredible. His improvements are under everyone’s eyes. After the Us Open, he managed to improve the service. The idea of 2026 is to improve aggressiveness and therefore from the three-quarters ahead of trying to take the network more often, to vary as much as possible not to give reference points to opponents.”.
“Objectively Sinner and Alcaraz do another sport – says Regggi – and have a different rhythm from others. There is to defend a title in the Australian Open, I believe that his goal and his team in 2026 is to win a big tournament on the ground and, perhaps, make a little thought, on winning all four Slams, which would not be so bad.”.
The glittering performance of Sinner is only the tip of the iceberg of a tennis movement never so healthy. To testify, in addition to the fresh triumph in the Davis Cup in Bologna, are the great vintages of Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli, respectively number 8 and number 22 of the Atp ranking. In 2026, top 5 goal for the carrarino, while the season of confirmation at high levels for the Roman. “For Musetti we wait for the addition of Perlas – says Regggi – who is a man of experience and we’ll see if he can give him something extra to do that extra shot. The goal I think is to approach Jannik and Carlos, the short-term one could be the top 5. It has a different tennis from others and has to try to improve on the fast fields to try to do that extra stroller even on fast surfaces.”.
Few points to defend at the opening of 2026 for Cobolli, who will be able to stabilize in top 20 from the first months of the season: “Cobolli can approach the top ten. Athletically speaking is one of the most prepared. Technically there is still to work on the side of the reverse, but at the level of determination and courage he lacks nothing. I expect a better start of the season, I hope to make a good schedule to arrive ready for 2026, since in the first months it has no points to defend”.
To the female, despite some high and low of too much, excellent season of Jasmine Paolini (number 8 Wta), closed with participation in the Wta Finals, both in singular and in double, and with the title to the Internationals of Italy: “Jasmine hopes he can repeat a season maybe even better than this year, where there were some ups and downs, but when he arrives at the Finals in single and double surely the season was not to throw away. The important thing will be to find a little continuity and make a good programming,” says Reggi, who looks to the future and sees Tyra Grant (class 2008, number 242 Wta) the potential to consecrate himself in the elite of tennis: “With Renzo Furlan at his side we hope to see her soon in the qualifications of the Slam and then, who knows, dream big and enter the 100. Now it is close to 200, from there to the top 100 is not impossible, maybe even something more”.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
