Forte dei Marmi and tennis: the story of a passion

13 May 2024

There is a bit of Forte dei Marmi in the life of Jannik Sinner, the champion who, after his triumph in the Davis Cup and at the Australian Open, is rekindling Italians’ passion for tennis. At just 14 years of age, Jannik was signed up by the Tennis Club Italia of Forte dei Marmi: a circumstance that has been rightly remembered and celebrated, although, to be fair, Sinner was never fielded by the Forte dei Marmi club, because even then his game was at a very high level compared to that of his peers. However, two other winners, with the Italian team, of the 2023 Davis Cup, have taken the court with Tennis Club Italia: Filippo Volandri and Lorenzo Sonego took part in the A1 series, the national championship, won by Tennis Italia in 2012 and 2015. And then there is Jasmine Paolini, currently number one in Italy and still a member of the club. In the wake of Sinner’s success, and that of many other tennis players, the sport is really coming back into fashion. And to those who have decided to dust off the racket, as to those who, at any age, want to discover the secrets of the game, Forte dei Marmi has much to offer.

An ancient tradition

Jasmine Paolin

Forte’s link with tennis is indeed ancient and deep. The clay courts are part of the landscape, just as the muffled sound of rackets hitting the ball is part of the soundtrack of summer.

For many, the tennis match is as much a part of the Forte-Marmina holiday as the beach, the aperitif or the shopping trip.

In addition to countless private courts, in villas, hotels and some bathing establishments, there are no less than seven tennis clubs available to enthusiasts, including seasonal ones, open only in summer, and those that, with some indoor courts, remain open all year round: a record number if you think that we are talking about an area of nine square kilometres, with 7 thousand inhabitants.

Bertolucci and Panatta

Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport

The name of Forte dei Marmi is linked to those of two of the greatest Italian tennis champions ever: Paolo Bertolucci and Adriano Panatta.

The former was born here, and began playing as a child, under the guidance of his father Gino, a tennis teacher at the Circolo Roma.

But Panatta is also linked to Forte and Versilia. The winner of the Internazionali di Roma and Roland Garros in Paris, as well as the Davis Cup (Panatta and Bertolucci played the decisive doubles match in the 1976 final), lived in Versilia for a long time, where he met his first wife Rosaria and where he ‘raised’ his family.

The era of Panatta and Bertolucci was a golden age for Italian tennis, both in terms of international victories and the very high number of players. A period that today seems to be relived. And Forte dei Marmi will be, as then, in the front row.