1. Italy with a junior tennis population of 180,000
Italian Tennis held a national tournament, bringing together more than 120 junior tennis players under the age of 10, born in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Milan Turin Ravenna Rimini Rome A Rome B Avellino Barletta / Andria / Trani (BAT), etc. Representative players under the age of 10 from each region gathered in the summer to compete in the Cup of the Provinces, the Italian championship, in the first week of August. It’s been 17 years.
The eight regional champions from each macro-regional group (Macroarea CENTRO SUD, CENTRO NORD, NORTH WEST and NORTH EAST) competed fiercely for the national championship trophy.
Here, the winning team or the player who stands out receives guidance from the central organization, the Italian Tennis Federation, and is invited to the national team camp for training. The competition is divided into two groups, the Sinner Group and the Musetti Group, and a round robin is held followed by a ranking match.
Yannick Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, who are currently active in the professional ranks, are instilling dreams and hopes in juniors. Twenty-year-old Sinner is ranked 11th in the world, and Musetti is ranked 30th. Italian tennis prides itself on producing professional players through its own system. That’s because among the top 200 men’s pros, there are five players under the age of 20.
Clubs in each region play a central role in helping 7-, 8-, and 10-year-olds enjoy tennis, and gather once a year to compete in a national competition. And if they stand out, they are selected and sent to the tour team for European junior competitions, which are held in more than 400 games a year. Let them enter the professional ranks by gradually participating in competitions for 12-year-olds, 14-year-olds, and 16-year-olds.
Just as a silkworm spins a thread, skill players emerge. That’s why Italian tennis coaches work hard to keep promising players on track. It is not easy to survive because the competition is so fierce, but players emerge from that competition.
The problem is the system.
If we let them play on clay courts at a young age, start with red ball, discover talented 7-8 year olds from all over the country, guide them well with national coaches, and have them participate in the European Junior Championships for 12- and 14-year-olds by team, we will also have 10 players ranked in the top 100 on the tour. It emits a lot.
I feel like tennis in our country has money scattered around and can’t find a way to spend it. In Italy, the association has sponsors including BMW Motors.
2. International competitions in Italy
Luca Mario Antonio, a reporter for Italy’s ‘Gazzetta’, explained Italian tennis as follows.
“30 years ago, Italy only had seven challenger competitions. It has slowly increased to host 25 men’s ITFs, 29 women’s ITFs, and 26 men’s ATP Challengers.
Creating an environment in the country where it is easy for domestic players to earn points was essential to the development of young people. The Italian Tennis Federation used the profits from the Rome Tour tournament to expand the number of tournaments.
At the same time, efforts were made to provide fans with more access to top-level tennis. As tennis popularity increases, it ultimately leads to increased player motivation.
The federation began operating ‘SuperTennis’, a dedicated tennis channel that broadcasts tennis around the world 24 hours a day, in 2008. As a result, a new fan base was expanded, raising tennis to become the second most popular sport after soccer. “Reform cannot be done unless it is this bold and planned.”
In Italy, the ‘Italian International Tournament’, a joint event for men and women with a history of more than half a century, is held in Rome, and the ‘ATP Finals’ is also held under a five-year contract from last year. Challenger competitions are held on average three times a month. The Next Generation competition, which showcases the next generation of world champions, has been held for five years.
Top 100 Italian players in men’s tour
1st place Yannick Sinner (23)
17th Lorenzo Musetti (22)
#32 Flavio Coboli (22)
35th Matteo Berrettini (28)
37th Matteo Arnaldi (23)
#44 Luciano Daderi (22)
#53 Lorenzo Sonego (29)
#90 Fabio Fognini (37)
91st Luca Nadi (21)
Top 100 Italian players on women’s tour
4th place Jasmine Paolini (28)
#52 Elisabetta Cocciareto (23)
77th Lucia Broncetti (25)
3. Long-term tenure of over 20 years as chairman with a blueprint
In the Davis Cup final tournament held in Malaga, Spain in the fourth week of November, Italy had about 30 representative players and coaches, 500 cheering squads, players of all abilities, etc. Italian tennis was strong.
In Italy, under President Angelo Binagi’s long-term rule for over 24 years, Italian tennis has been growing steadily. There are two directions for Italian tennis. The first is that 149 international competitions are held a year to help athletes improve their rankings within their own country.
The second was the operation of a broadcast channel that broadcasts tennis around the world 24 hours a day.
As a result, 3.15 million people play tennis on 10,000 courts (2,000 indoor courts) across the country. There are a whopping 475,000 registered players in the association, of which 200,000 are juniors.
So, 249 professional players who make a living from tennis play in 149 international competitions held in their countries, and Italian players appear in any competition around the world to promote Italy and introduce Italian culture.
Since there are tournaments and players, of course there are 10,000 coaches who teach tennis. In Korea, indoor tennis practice centers have expanded like convenience stores, and the number of amateurs who want to coach has increased, but compared to only a few hundred, the number of tennis coaches in Italy is enormous.
There are as many as 10,000 tennis coaches, and among the players under their guidance, 12 of them, including men and women, are ranked in the top 100 pros. We hope for one player to struggle and get one win, but in Italy, 12 players comfortably play in the tour finals in any tournament, and some of them easily advance to the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Angelo Binaggi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, said, “In tennis, our country was last, but today we are the strongest in the world. “I think this is good news for our country, considering tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world.”
Italy showed an enthusiastic response to winning the Davis Cup, a men’s national competition, just a few days after winning the Billy Jean King Cup, a women’s national competition. This is because winning both men’s and women’s national competitions has never been achieved by Italy before, and is a feat achieved only by four other countries in the past.
President Binagi said, “There is an extraordinary story behind this title. The story of Berrettini, Paolini and Erani, who played six games this year and won six.
“With 10 players in the top 101, Italy is ranked first in terms of players ranked in the top 100,” he said. “Italian tennis, clubs, coaches, managers, and passionate fans have worked hard to help Italian tennis rise to the top of the world.” “We are proud to be the strongest tennis nation in the world.”
Binagi concluded: “The goal is for tennis to become an increasingly popular sport in Italy. Tennis is the sport that prolongs life the most and we need to get everyone across the country playing tennis.”
Italy’s tennis system is very solid. Most of the players in the top 100 are in their 20s, so it seems that the performance of Italian players will continue for the next 10 years.
This is understandable, as ITF, ATP, and WTA tournaments are growing by giving wild cards to players. In the end, the competitiveness of domestic tennis on the international stage lies in hosting international competitions.
Article = Tennis People Reporter Park Won-sik
