Jannik Sinner effect: Series A must also take a step backward

The great success of Italian tennis and, in particular, of the current world number one Jannik Sinner will cause one of the most important rituals of Italian sport, Serie A Sunday, to take a step back to avoid the possible overlap with one of the most awaited tennis events by the Italian public, the final of the Internazionali d’Italia, which, as all fans of the Bel Paese hope, could see Sinner himself (who will be first seed) among the two contenders for the trophy.

The Sunday in question is May 17 and will see Italy’s top championship live out its penultimate day with an event destined to catalyze attention scheduled right in the capital, the derby between Roma and Lazio. The concomitance of the two events has led Lega Serie A president Ezio Simonelli to herald an adaptation by Italian football to the needs of tennis, with an unprecedented possibility of more matches played at 12:30 p.m.

“For the Rome derby, we will of course try to avoid any overlap with the final of the Internazionali,” Simonelli said on the sidelines of a presentation event related to the Italian Cup final. “Considering the options, the evening is impractical and the afternoon coincides with tennis: therefore, the 12:30 p.m. slot on Sunday remains. It is the most logical hypothesis and, in all likelihood, it will be the one we will choose.”

With Lazio coming from the Cup final with Inter scheduled for May 13 (which makes it impossible for the derby to be brought forward to Saturday), Roma engaged in the European sprint and the need for challenges between teams with the same objective to be played at the same time, a very rich Sunday lunch is therefore looming: in fact, Como-Parma, Genoa-Milan, Juventus-Fiorentina and Pisa-Napoli could also be played at the same time.

Everything will be decided close to the day itself, in the week starting on May 11, when the ranking situation may allow any decision on the matter.

What is certain is that until a few years ago it was almost impossible to imagine soccer bowing to the demands of tennis, but the racket revolution led by Jannik Sinner has led to this kind of situation as well.