Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in history while waiting for Jannik Sinner

Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori enter Italian tennis history. Never before had an all-Italian pair won the men’s doubles title at the Internazionali di Roma. Not even Nicola Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola had managed it: seven finals played, six defeats and the one in 1960 remained unfinished.

The current protagonists of the Italian Davis were finally able to break the taboo, able to impose themselves on the Foro Italico’s Central, already inflamed in the expectation of Sinner-Ruud, against one of the strongest pairs on the circuit: the Spaniard Marcel Granollers and the Argentine Horacio Zeballos, winners of two Slams last season. The success came at the end of a 2-hour, 17-minute battle, closed with a score of 7-6(8), 6-7(3), 10-3.

In the golden era of Italian tennis, another negative record thus falls. Until now, the roll of honor in men’s doubles included Italian names, yes, but always joined by foreign partners: Del Bono in 1931 with Hughes, De Stefani in 1932 again with Hughes, Palmieri in 1934 together with Rogers, and Camporese in 1991 alongside Ivanisevic. In the 83rd edition of the tournament, 96 years after the first, finally comes the triumph of an all-Italian pair. It is a feat that concerns the men’s draw, because among the women the Italian women had already won the title five times, the last two with Errani and Paolini in 2024 and 2025.

For Bolelli and Vavassori it is the crowning achievement of a path built over the years. United since 2021, they have won ten Atp titles, including two Masters 1000 titles won just in 2026, in Miami and Rome. They have also reached three Slam finals and participated in two editions of the Atp Finals, becoming in 2025 the first Italian pair to go all the way to the semifinals. Today they occupy third place in the world specialty ranking.