Lorenzo Musetti is ready to ‘give it all’ in the quest for the Roman crown | ATP Tour
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Musetti is ready to ‘give it all’ in the quest for the Roman crown
Italy reached the semi-finals in the Italian capital last year
May 06, 2026
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Lorenzo Musetti was playing in Rome last season.
Written by Sam Jacot
Italian tennis has reached new heights in recent years. Jannik Sinner rose to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and claimed 28 tour-level titles. The Italian men have won three consecutive Davis Cup titles, while the women have won the previous two Billie Jean King Cup titles.
World No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti has played his part in Davis Cup success and is still a force at the top of the game. The 24-year-old, now ranked as high as 5, has advanced to multiple semi-finals and reached the final at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo last year.
This week, Musetti will lead the Italian team along with Sinner at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and is happy with the current state of tennis in Italy.
“I feel that tennis right now is one of the most dangerous and popular sports in the world and especially in Europe and Italy right now,” Musetti told ATP Media in his pre-tournament speech. “I think we owe it to Jannik, who is number 1 in the world and has won many titles. Jasmine Paolini on the women’s side, and others and myself.
“We have won three Davis Cup titles in a row and two Billie Jean King Cups. All these things we have achieved and the results we have had a great impact on the young people, the approach to sports. Yesterday, Pietrangeli was almost full for practice and I can’t imagine what the competition will be like when it starts.”
Musetti grew up in Carrara, Tuscany and moved to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera at the age of 13 to train at Riccardo Piatti’s academy. The Italian fondly remembers visiting the Foro Italico as a child, watching Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic compete in the ATP Masters 1000 clay court event.
“It’s special to me,” Musetti said of Rome. “It’s always a place that brings me back to my childhood. It was my first tournament that I saw live. I remember watching Rafa, Federer and Nole play here in this tournament when I came to this tournament as a parent. It’s a magical place that helped me a lot to prepare myself and try to get back in shape.”
Musetti reached the semi-finals in Rome last year and will be hoping to do so again this weekend. The eighth seed is 4-3 on clay this year, according to the Infosys ATP Win Loss/Index, but is aiming to become the first Italian champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
“I feel 100 percent ready to give everything I have,” Musetti said. “Yes, I will need all the support and love from the crowd. With that, I think I can achieve something very important and I can try to surprise everyone. Here in Rome, we lack an Italian winner. This year I hope he will come.”
Musetti will open his campaign against the French Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or the British Jacob Fearnley.
