Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani. It seems like a long time has passed since their great success, when in fact it has only been a few years. How is Italian women’s tennis doing today?
New girls of Italian tennis: Paolini, Trevisan, Cocciaretto
The final that the Italian team, captained by Tathiana Garbin, reached in the Billie Jean King Cup a few weeks ago may have created more than an illusion. However, despite a great team tournament, defeat in the final act of the competition came only to Italy, against Canada. Women’s tennis is at an impasse. Many good Italian tennis players are missing, but he is truly a breakthrough talent, an athlete who consistently places in the top 10 with his tennis.
After the great generation of Italian players who achieved outstanding results between 2010 and 2015, the legendary victory of the Federation Cup in 2013, the successes of Francesca Schiavone and Sara Errani at Roland Garros 2010 and 2012 respectively and the all-Italian final in 2012. There was a gap between Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 US Open. A gap exacerbated by concurrent growth many world class men However, the Italian remains at the forefront of men’s tennis.
The hope of the women in blue in tennis
It is almost ironic to see how, after two decades of very poor performance in men’s tennis, the Italian movement has continued to gain some satisfaction over the years only thanks to the great success of the girls. Today the situation is completely reversed.. Although the glory of Slam tournament success is a long way off, Italian women’s tennis is alive and well, if not explosive in terms of top-level talent.
The best-ranked Italian tennis player in the WTA rankings today is Jasmine Paolini, who is ranked 30th in the international women’s tennis association rankings. Paolini, a 27-year-old Tuscan native from Bagni di Lucca, has failed to advance beyond the second round in any of his four slam tournaments and His best ranking is number 29Obtained at the end of October 2023. After success at the WTA 250 in Portorose, Slovenia, Paolini looked set to become the new leader of Italian women’s tennis.
Unfortunately, this remains the only success of her career in WTA tournaments to date, but there have been very positive signs in 2023, with two finals reached in Palermo and Monastir and good performances in the Billie Jean Cup. Jasmine Paolini can raise the level It’s a little longer, and from that perspective, 2024 will be the season to aim for a top 20 finish. Behind her, in 42nd place, is Martina Trevisan, who is having a truly special 2023.
On the one hand, it actually reached its best ranking at #18 on May 8, 2023, but it was only able to maintain that ranking for three weeks. In fact, her first-round defeat against Elina Svitolina at Roland Garros took its toll on her; A double defeat of 6-2, 6-2 saw him move beyond 60th place in Paris in 2022. Florentine girl advanced to the semi-finals: Defended almost half of her WTA points in the French tournament. For him, 2024 could be a stable year in which he will definitely consolidate his presence in the top 30.
Here is Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who is back in the top 50 after her best ranking (twenty-ninth) in August 2023. Born in 2001, twenty-two years old from Ancona Another new hope for Italian women’s tennisIt was raised for a while thanks to excellent performances in the junior circuit and the six ITF titles won between 2018 and 2022 (International Tennis Federation tournaments played by juniors and semi-professionals, which distribute far fewer points than the ATPs).
Over the past year and a half, recovering from a severe knee injury, Cocciaretto has greatly improved her spin and serves, winning the WTA 250 in Lausanne and the WTA 125 in San Luis Potosì, Mexico. She also reached the final of the Australian WTA 250 in Hobart and reached the third round for the first time at both Roland Garros. beat top 10 player Petra Kvitova in first roundAt Wimbledon, she lost only to world number 4 Jessica Pegula. The path of growth is certainly just beginning and it will be interesting to see what the 2024 season has to offer for Cocciaretto.
Legendary Errani, eternal promise Giorgi, Bronzetti challenge
The fury and delight of Italian tennis, perhaps crushed by the weight of expectations that have been too high since she was young and the rumors that constantly circulate about her, 31-year-old Camila Giorgi is still there, number 52 in the world. Regardless she is among the best women’s tennis in Italy. Never very well-liked by his fellow citizens because of his star-like demeanor, Giorgi made his professional debut at the age of 14 and next season it will be number eighteen on the field for him. A solid tennis player, listed in the WTA 1000 (Montreal 2021), we expect her usual year to be full of moments of extraordinary talent, sudden declines and controversies that have little to do with tennis.
World number 64, 24-year-old Lucia Bronzetti from Rimini, is a tennis player whose name is not much talked about but will appear in the 2024 season. can definitely make a splash Towards the top of Italian women’s tennis. She won her first WTA 250 in Rabat in May 2023, also losing to Katerina Siniakova in the third round at the US Open and the other final of the WTA 250 circuit in Bad Homburg. Finally, the great Sara Errani, who managed to break into the top 100 in 2023 at the age of 40 and was considering whether to give herself another one last season before retiring, deserves mention.
