President of the Italian Tennis Federation Angelo Binaghi (left) and No.1 Jannik Sinner during a press conference in Rome, January 31, 2024
Andreas SOLARO
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Italian tennis, led by ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner, is experiencing a golden era that has been possible thanks to the free broadcast of matches on television, the president of the Italian Tennis Federation Angelo explained to AFP. Binaghi.
“Having the world No. 1 in a sport as universal and as competitive as tennis is a miracle for the country. We have a phenomenon like Sinner, we have won the Davis Cup (2023), we are finalists in the Billie Jean King Cup ( 2023), we have five players in the world Top 40 and Jasmine Paolini as No. 4 in the WTA,” listed the head of Italian tennis.
“But it is not a miracle that appears from nowhere, as can happen in Switzerland or Serbia, but rather it has solid roots,” he says.
Arrived at the position in 2001, when Italian tennis was in crisis, with only one player in the world Top 100, the key to the current success is “our own television channel SuperTennis (created in 2008), says Binaghi.
“Twenty years ago, tennis had disappeared from our screens. If a sport is not seen on television, children do not practice it, it is condemned to die,” he explained.
“Now, there are 900,000 daily viewers in Italy who watch tennis all year round for free,” he says.
“If tennis is more popular, there are more clubs, more tennis schools, more practitioners, more sponsors, more tickets sold at expensive prices in the big tournaments,” argues Binaghi in an interview given to AFP on the sidelines of the ATP Masters that It is being held in Turin (north).
“Do you know the price of tickets for this Masters? Nothing can be found for less than 500 euros ($531) and we are full.”
“In our Western European countries, tennis could be more popular than football (…), but the sport cannot develop if only the rich can watch tournaments on television. It is a strategic mistake,” says Binaghi. .
“Everything must be done so that our major tournaments are broadcast open to all of Europe,” he insists.
The ATP Masters, the tournament that brings together the eight best tennis players of the season, will be played in Turin until at least 2025. “We are doing everything possible to extend the contract, whether in Turin or in Milan, where a pavilion for the 2026 Winter Olympics that will be larger.
“It depends on the ATP, we will know more on Sunday” when the Masters ends, the person in charge concluded.
