After a blistering start at the 2025 Championships, Jannik Sinner has already matched a notable milestone this Wimbledon.
With only 17 games conceded in the first three rounds, the world No.1 has equalled the record set by Jan Kodes to reach the same stage in 1972.
He’s not the only Italian thriving in SW19. Other men from Sinner’s homeland are also underlining the nation’s growing status as a tennis powerhouse.
Sinner is joined in the fourth round by countrymen Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Sonego, marking the first time in history that three Italian men have reached Wimbledon’s last 16.
The trio were among 11 Italian men – including four seeds and one qualifier – who started in the 2025 gentlemen’s singles draw, highlighting the growing depth in the nation’s tennis ranks. Only the United States, with 16 players, Great Britain (13) and France (12) boasted more men’s singles representatives in The Championships this year.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Fabio Colangelo, an Italian former pro player and now the coach of Sonego, who notes both the strength in numbers and Sinner’s inspirational influence at world No.1.
“I mean, now we have the best player in the world, so he’s inspiring everybody especially in Italy because they know each other really well.”
If there’s a downside to Italy’s growing dominance, it’s that those players occasionally face each other. Sinner’s first round opponent was world No.95 Luca Nardi – one of nine Italian men ranked inside the world’s top 100.
Those kind of players, they’re born and then you’re lucky that they are born in your country
“Playing against an Italian is for us very unfortunate, but one has to go through, so I’m happy that it is me,” smiled the No.1 seed, who would love to build on his compatriots’ progress in SW19.
Italian stars have made dazzling progress at recent Championships, with Matteo Berrettini becoming the first from his nation to reach a Wimbledon final in 2021 and Lorenzo Musetti making a Grand Slam breakthrough as a semi-finalist last year.
Depth in the women’s game is also evident at the All England Club, where world No.5 Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian to contest a Wimbledon final in 2024. At world No.116, Elisabetta Cocciaretto has also made her mark, stunning No.3 seed Jessica Pegula in her progress to this year’s third round.
But in 2025, it’s Italian men who are shining, with Cobolli and Sonego each breaking new Grand Slam ground in SW19.
The 23-year-old Cobolli, who lists his idol as the retiring Fabio Fognini, is blazing through his second Wimbledon campaign as the No.22 seed. An upset of No.15 seed Jakub Mensik sent him to a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time.
“It’s something that I dream [about] a lot, since when I started to play tennis. Especially here, it’s fantastic to reach the fourth round here,” said Cobolli, who now faces Marin Cilic in the biggest match of his career.
The unseeded Sonego next faces Ben Shelton after an electrifying upset of No.29 seed Brandon Nakashima. The world No.47 fired 75 winners in a 6-7(7), 7-6(8), 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3) victory.
Spanning five hours and four minutes, it’s the longest match so far this year.
Coach Colangelo is understandably delighted with Sonego’s progress since they first teamed up in April last year.
“On the court, he’s perfect to work with because he listens a lot, he believes in me,” Colangelo said. “It’s very important, but also away from the court, we have fun. We talk about everything, not only tennis. He’s a very humble guy.”
Colangelo is equally delighted with the collective influence of Italian players, which he attributes to support from the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation and a plethora of competitive opportunities.
There’s also the power of a No.1 player, Colangelo noting that just as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal inspired tennis booms in Switzerland and Spain respectively, Sinner is now generating huge interest in Italy.
“I think those kind of players, they’re born and then you’re lucky that they are born in your country,” he said.
Should Sinner and Sonego progress through the fourth round, they would meet in the quarter-finals.
Sinner, incidentally, enters Monday’s match with Grigor Dimitrov having overtaken Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli with his 17th appearance in a Grand Slam round of 16 – yet another standalone record for the 23-year-old from San Candido.
And still more history is potentially in the making for the southern European nation. No Italian, male or female, has lifted the Wimbledon singles trophy in more than 100 years of competition – could 2025 at last be that year?
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