The memory of Elena Pero moves Federica Masolin: “We’ll move forward, inspired by your example”
The memory of Elena Pero, the beloved tennis commentator who recently passed away, moved Federica Masolin during the live broadcast. The “Sky Sport” journalist, who was tasked with opening the Friday night broadcast for the Nations League matches, paid tribute to her colleague with some heartfelt words, her voice choked with emotion. “For us at Sky, these are difficult, very complicated days. But we’re moving forward, because we know that Elena—the voice of tennis—would have been proud of us to see us doing what she loved most. She always worked, no matter what, and what we’re certain of is that we’ll start anew from her—from the example of grace, kindness, and courtesy she always showed toward our world, the world of sports. And we’ll start right here, with her and her legacy—that gentle smile that will stay with us forever,” she said, while Veronica Baldaccini, Stefano De Grandis, and Beppe Bergomi stood around her, struggling to hold back their tears.
Elena Pero passed away at the age of 60, leaving an irreplaceable void in the world of Italian sports journalism. Sky Sport announced her passing in an official statement that recounted her extraordinary career: “Elena was the face of this network, Sky Sport, for more than thirty-five years, ever since it was called Telepiù, where she joined right from its founding as a trainee journalist in 1991, hired by Rino Tommasi, her great mentor, from whom she—the only one capable of doing so—inherited the heaviest legacy. Her voice is, and always will be, a symbol of pure beauty. Like the sound of a ball struck by Roger Federer, like a volley by Martina Navratilova.”
Among Elena Pero’s closest colleagues, Paolo Bertolucci was the one with whom she shared over twenty years of commentary, forming what Sky itself called “the second formidable duo of her career.” The former Italian tennis player bid her farewell with a photo posted on X, taken with her and Ivan Ljubičić on the day of their last Wimbledon final: “July 12, our last final. Goodbye, Elena.” In a video posted by Sky, Bertolucci added: “It’s impossible to accept such a sudden farewell; I will always carry her in my heart. It’s impossible to find words that do justice to Elena Pero’s extraordinary professionalism. She loved tennis like no one else.”
Elena Pero’s final commentary, alongside Bertolucci, was the Wimbledon final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, which the Italian won. Sky marked the end of her career with deep emotion: “She never missed a broadcast, not even while she was ill,” reads the network’s official statement, a testament to her absolute dedication to her work, which she maintained until the very end.
The grief over her passing has also overwhelmed the world outside of Sky. Andrea Scanzi, on Facebook, expressed his dismay on social media with deeply emotional words: “No, Elena. No. Her grace. Her expertise. The enthusiasm. She was AMAZING. A devastating loss. I really have no words. There can be none. It’s atrocious. Atrocious.” A sentiment shared by thousands of fans on social media, both longtime tennis fans and those who had become interested in the sport in recent years thanks to the phenomenon of Jannik Sinner and the golden age of Italian tennis.
In its statement, Sky honored Elena Pero by placing her in the pantheon of the greatest Italian sports commentators: “She belongs in the pantheon alongside—to name just a few—Nicolò Carosio, Nando Martellini, Paolo Rosi, Alfredo Pigna, and Adriano De Zan, those who recounted the legendary feats of our sport to millions of Italians.” This posthumous recognition underscores just how much Elena Pero meant not only to tennis, but to the entire history of Italian sports journalism.
