Binaghi’s sentence about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz causes discussion.

Federertennis president Angelo Binaghi in an interview with Corriere della Sera spoke about the golden era that the Italian tennis is living: “It is clear that as a Federation we have been working a lot, supporting our players, trying to help them in every way, without forcing them to move away from home. But it is clear that everything starts with them.”

“Berrettini, and even before that Fabio Fognini, have been the evolution of the species, changing the canon of the lazy Italian player to follow a culture of work, ethics and sacrifice. Because without these values, in today’s super-competitive tennis, you go nowhere.”

The epitome of all this is Jannik Sinner: “It all starts with example. Sinner choosing to stay on the court, to try to the last, without complaining about his condition. But when had we ever seen such a thing in the past? We admired the foreign champions who did it, rather. As a former player, I belonged to a generation of tennis players who sent the message that you had to be unscrupulous and guasco, a bit indolent, because you were successful anyway. Now we have a star player, who has fallen from the sky, dragging the movement by his example.”

Binaghi then drew a parallel with Carlos Alcaraz that has made many on social media turn their noses up at him: “Unlike Alcaraz, Jannik will never buy himself a six-million-euro yacht. I am sure of that, and I believe I will not be proven wrong.” The statement also gained prominence outside Italy and sparked a fuss in Spain, inflaming the climate between the two fans.