Sardinia Open, Challenger 175 from May 1st in Cagliari

On the way to Rome and after Madrid. Here is the Sardegna Open, the Challenger 175 tournament which will take place from 1 to 7 May on the courts of the Tennis Club in Monte Urpinu in Cagliari. On the Sardinian red clay that has always brought success to the blue movement, from the victory in the final in the Fed Cup in 2013, to the triumph in the ATP 250 in 2021 for Lorenzo Sonego.

Historical

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Cagliari will open the great Italian tennis of 2023 and will pave the way for the new era of Italy’s BNL internationals. This is the third most important event in our country in 2023 after Rome and the Finals in Turin. An historic event for Italian tennis and for the Sardinian movement, as the president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation Angelo Binaghi defined it: “”In recent days we have received the study on the impacts on the territory of the Atp Finals, this event is comparable to great singing events such as and more than Eurovision or Sanremo. On the territory they have an impact of more than 200 million. We are talking about events broadcast in 209 countries of the world. The event that Cagliari will host is very particular, we are talking about the biggest tournament in the history of Sardinian tennis. It is not a spot tournament, but we must be good at keeping it for the future. Tennis today, together with padel, is the second national sport and has different future prospects than football. With football going through a period of crisis, something that Italian tennis does not have. This role of second national sport is also close to us. This sport is at the peak of its history in Italy. It will be a tournament to follow and with great care to see it grow year by year”.

Names and expectations

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It is difficult to predict the big names who will participate in the Sardegna Open, but whoever leaves the Madrid tournament will almost certainly decide to participate in the Premium Challenger to prepare for the Rome Internationals, as underlined by Paolo Lorenzi, technical director of the tournament: “All the stronger players and the first of these new tournaments in Europe will be right here in Cagliari. It will be the preparation for the land of Rome. After Madrid many champions will come here to keep the condition in view of the Internationals. I expect so much public”. The relationship with Cagliari is also underlined by the Italian tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli: “I would like the honorary citizenship of Cagliari given the many memories I have in this city. Not everyone knows that for the final of the Fed Cup 2013 no one wanted to give us the opportunity to host it in Cagliari and with President Binaghi we fought to achieve it. In the end it was a success and now everyone is praising us”. A success that is also hoped for in 2023 for Italian tennis, as hoped by the same President Binaghi: “Sinner earned 250 ATP points in Montpellier and this Sardinian tournament is not far from those points with 175 total. On a physical level, I see Italian tennis players growing. Sinner has the makings of a champion, today he is the Italian player with the most perspectives. The whole world recognizes it. Last year we lost the Davis Cup in the semifinals and this year we are chasing it again. Hoping to have more luck with the injuries compared to 2022”.