Who is Eliot Spizzirri, the Italian-born American who scared Jannik Sinner

Eliot Spizzirri, world number 85, rattled Jannik Sinner in the third round of the Australian l’Open. The American, in fact, led 3-1 in the third set with the world number two cramping up before the referee suspended the match to close the roof as the heat index had reached an extreme level. From that moment on, Sinner managed to turn the match around by winning a grueling four-set victory (4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4).

Aldo Seghedoni

During 2025 Eliot Spizzirri had already had several intersections with Italian tennis. At the Brest Challenger he eliminated Giulio Zeppieri in the quarterfinals at the end of three sets, before also overcoming Francesco Passaro. At the U.S. Open 2025, however, his path stopped against Luciano Darderi, while at the Phoenix Challenger it was Flavio Cobolli who eliminated him. In early 2026 he then reached the quarterfinals at the ASB Classic, stopped by Fabian Marozsan.

Australian majors have increasingly put the 2001-born American tennis player, Jannik Sinner’s age, on the map. Born in Greenwich, Fairfield County Connecticut, Spizzirri has well-defined Italian ancestry, having grown up in a family of Calabrian descent.

His path to professionalism has been unconventional. He chose college tennis, maturing athletically at the University of Texas, where he built a top-notch college career. As a child, he cheered on Roger Federer, and as a junior, he rose as high as No. 20 in the ITF rankings in 2019, playing every Slam tournament and winning the doubles title at the U.S. Open junior along with Tyler Zink.

The college experience was crucial to his growth: at the University of Texas he was named ITA National Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, closing that cycle by winning the national title.

The transition into the professional ranks has been smooth but steady. After debuting on the ATP circuit and winning for the first time, 2026 marked the real breakthrough. In Melbourne he made it through the first round with an unexpected success against João Fonseca, listed as one of the favorites on the eve of the event, although conditioned by physical problems. Just in January 2026 he achieved the best ATP ranking of his career, rising to 85th position. Destro, who is 185 cm tall, also achieved good results in doubles, where he reached No. 159 in 2025.

Technically speaking, Spizzirri offers offensive but tidy tennis, geared to take the initiative from the first strokes. The serve is a solid foundation of her game, more effective at building than ace-making, while the forehand is the shot with which she tries to command from the back. The two-handed backhand is stable and difficult to attack, and when he can he does not hesitate to close the point at the net, showing good volleys. He does not live by flare-ups, but by consistent performance, with few free errors and lucid management of important moments. A concrete player, more reliable than spectacular.