Match Preview
Musetti ready to ‘give everything’ in quest for Rome crown
Italian reached the semi-finals in the Italian capital last year
May 06, 2026
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Lorenzo Musetti in action in Rome last season.
By Sam Jacot
Italian tennis has hit new heights in recent years. Jannik Sinner has climbed to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and captured 28 tour-level titles. The Italian men have won three consecutive Davis Cup titles, while the women have won the past two Billie Jean King Cup editions.
World No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti played his part in Davis Cup successes and has become a major force at the top of the game. The 24-year-old, who has reached a career high No. 5, has advanced to multiple major semi-finals and reached the final at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo last year.
This week, Musetti will lead the Italian charge alongside Sinner at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and is excited about the current status of tennis in Italy.
“I feel tennis right now is probably one of the most viral and most popular sports in the world and especially in Europe and Italy right now,” Musetti told ATP Media in his pre-tournament interview. “I think we are thanking Jannik, who is No. 1 in the world and has achieved so many titles. Jasmine Paolini on the women’s side, and others and I.
“We’ve won three Davis Cup titles in a row and two Billie Jean King Cups. All these achievements and results that we’ve had have had a massive impact on the younger ones, getting closer to the sport. Yesterday was almost a full Pietrangeli for practice and I can’t imagine what the tournament will be like when it starts.”
Musetti grew up in Carrara, Tuscany and then made the move to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera at age 13 to train at Riccardo Piatti’s centre. The Italian fondly remembers his visits to the Foro Italico when younger, watching Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic compete at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event.
“It is really special for me,” Musetti said of Rome. “It is always a place that brings me back to being a kid. It was my first tournament that I saw live. I remember watching Rafa, Federer and Nole playing here at this tournament when I came to this tournament as a parent. It is a magical place that can give me a lot of helping reforming myself and trying to get back into perfect shape.”
Musetti reached the semi-finals in Rome last year and will be hoping to recapture that form this fortnight. The eighth seed is 4-3 on the 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 per cent ready to give everything I have,” Musetti said. “Of course I will need all the support and the love from the crowd. With that, I think I can achieve something really important and I can try to surprise everybody. Here in Rome, we are missing an Italian winner. This year hopefully it will come.”
Musetti will open his campaign against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or British qualifier Jacob Fearnley.
