Who is Noemi Basiletti: the blue girl who studied under Nadal

“A dream come true”, says Noemi Basiletti with a giant smile, who as number 427 in the world ranking started from pre-qualifying, earned a wild card for the qualifiers, passed them and, today, even won in the first round of the main draw of the Internationals, beating the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, n.88 WTA already in 32nd place in the rankings, 7-5 6-4. Among other things, the match was played over two days: yesterday evening the suspension due to rain, at 5-3 for her, today the restart, with the comeback of her opponent and the subsequent outburst of this twenty-year-old who is a mix of talent and determination. “In the first set I felt the game a bit and she came forward, then I tried to play making every point count and in the end I managed to take her home.”

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Twenty years from San Vincenzo (Livorno), Basiletti was among the strongest Italian players at youth level, but she needed her time to blossom. “Everyone has their own path, however I have always gone to school also because my parents Paola and Mauro wanted me to continue my studies. I spent four years at Rafa Nadal’s Academy, where I received a scholarship from 14 to 18 years old, I graduated and then returned to Italy. Now I train in Turin”, she says after the first match won in her career on the WTA tour, directly in a 1000, the culmination of a beginning professional career which saw her gain experience on the minor ITF circuit, with four semi-finals reached, including one this year in the W35 of Monastir.

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Since December Basiletti has been training at the Circolo della Stampa Sporting in Turin, with Federico Maccari. “I’ve changed a lot of things on and off the pitch. I’m establishing a very good feeling with Federico (he calls him maestro, not coach, ed.). He’s managed to understand me, to get inside me a little, which isn’t easy sometimes.” Maccari is Leonardo Bonucci’s brother-in-law and Noemi reveals that the former Juventus defender sent him his compliments through him. “It was super cute.” As a child she followed Flavia Pennetta, now she is inspired by Jessica Pegula. “At times we have a fairly similar game, in terms of tactics. Flavia, on the other hand, I always liked how she was on the pitch, she was a model for me.” Now, in the next round, she will face Elina Svitolina, number 10 in the world. “I hadn’t even seen the scoreboard. Worried about the size of the Forum? In the past I handled the fact that there were a lot of people around me a little badly, but today I manage to isolate myself and don’t feel the pressure. I want to have fun, show what I can do, taking inspiration from all the players who are in Rome.”