Jannik Sinner Leads the Revolution; a Historic Overtake Takes Place
For over a century, soccer has effectively been the main focal point of sports membership in Italy. Today, that dynamic has changed: data from the CONI monitoring report confirms that the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) has surpassed the Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC).
Data from the CONI-FSN-DSA monitoring show that as early as 2024, the FITP had 1,162,477 registered members (equal to 20.2% of the total for all national sports federations), exceeding the FIGC’s 1,123,054 members by approximately 40,000. This growth continued into 2025, when the tennis federation’s membership reached 1,254,153.
This overtaking marks the culmination of a long-term trend. At the start of Angelo Binaghi’s tenure in 2001, membership in what was then called the FIT (padel was added to the acronym in 2023) stood at 130,000. This growth is part of a generally positive trend for Italian sports as a whole, which in 2024 reached a total of 6,069,891 registered members across national federations and associated disciplines (+7.7% compared to 2023).
The international achievements of athletes such as Jannik Sinner (the first Italian ever to reach the top spot in the rankings and the face of this sporting and cultural revolution), as well as those of Jasmine Paolini, Sara Errani, Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Berrettini, and Lorenzo Musetti have certainly expanded the media visibility of racquet sports, serving as a strong incentive for participants. However, the Federation has emphasized on multiple occasions that this surge in popularity is based on a much broader strategy.
The cornerstone of this model has been the development and promotion of major international events hosted in Italy (from the Italian Open to the ATP Finals in Turin, including the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna and the Next Gen tournament in Reggio Calabria), which have been transformed into revenue streams to be reinvested in grassroots programs, coach training, and support for a broader network of youth and intermediate tournaments (Challenger and Futures) than in the past.
Although the FITP holds the lead in total membership and tops the rankings for women’s membership (with approximately 477,000 female tennis and padel players, accounting for 25.6% of the total), soccer maintains a lead in other key segments. In fact, the FIGC maintains its leadership in the number of affiliated clubs (10,941 compared to the FITP’s 4,096), in geographical reach as the leading federation in 11 Italian regions, and in the total revenue generated by the professional sector, which remains the main economic driver of national sports.
The figures reported by the FITP do not, therefore, diminish soccer’s historic centrality, but rather outline a new balance within the Italian sports system.
