Tennis boom on Sky: Jannik Sinner effect, Raffaella Reggi has no doubts
The words of Raffaella Reggi
In Sky’s House of Sports è an unprecedented tennis season is underway, with record numbers and skyrocketing ratings. While the passion for an increasingly loved sport grows, Sky ensures extraordinary coverage of the most awaited challenges, with a’special attention paid to the Azzurri’s exploits to enhance the spectacle of this important historical moment. Quantità of events and quality of storytelling – between in-depth and original productions – are among the trademarks of great tennis on Sky and streaming on NOW, a sport that has now become an essential pillar with an increasingly wide offer: in fact, the current season counts about 6,000 matches in 12 months, more than 13 thousand hours of live matches thanks mainly to the Sky Sport Tennis channel.
Moreù than 100 tournaments between ATP and WTA, thanks to the five-year agreement until 2028, and about 300 hours reserved for analysis and in-depth reports. The best technology to support storytelling: coming soon is a new hyper-technological studio with augmented reality dedicated to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, with a team of top professionals always on the court. Added to all this are record ratings – in 4 months there are already 3 of the best most watched matches ever on Sky – thanks to the spectacle, excitement, tension and fun that are characterizing the first tournaments of 2024, with the great feats of Jannik Sinner, winner this year of the Australian Open and the Miami Masters 1000, but also Jasmine Paolini, champion of the WTA 1000 in Dubai. Outliers who have colored the last few weeks blue and help make the golden moment of this great sport even more special.
Among the talent on commentary is Raffaella Reggi, who took stock of the situation at Sportal microphones: "It's a great moment for tennis in Italy, finally. It's also fun and exciting for us to see every week Sinner but also all the others going on in the big tournaments. The lean times are gone".
"With Jannik we all have to keep calm, it will happen to him as è it already happened in Monte Carlo to lose becauseé è it is impossible to win all the time but we have to be good at finding the balance. I do not like for example that he was criticized after the knockout with Tsitipas. He seems like someone who is not nicked by anything but especially in Rome some tension will be there and it will be interesting to see how he will handle it. The atmosphere in Turin and the Finals è different, more international, while at the Foro Italico the cheering will be more warm".
Chapter number one: "He admitted it himself that he is looking at the standings and doing the calculations. Those who say otherwise are lying. Not è just the icing on the cake but something you work for from a young age. If it won’t be a matter of weeks, it will be a matter of months but he will make it.
Inevitable to talk also about the Olympics with the'only Italian woman to have won a medal, bronze in 1984: "Paris will be close to the American tournaments on cement but I think Sinner will do everything to participate both in singles and doubles with Sonego, if he can also qualify. As for a mixed with Jasmine Paolini, I think it would be challenging".
And it is precisely Jasmine Paolini è who has become the face of Italian women’s tennis: "She has already equaled me as best ranking. It took her a while to blossom but è very fun to watch her play. Some say she lacks a bit of inches but è improved a lot on serve".
