Update September 2025

It’s a golden era for Italian men’s tennis, and three of Italy’s leading players are members of the HEAD family. Matteo Berrettini was the first Italian to reach the Wimbledon final in 2021, Jannik Sinner is a multiple Grand Slam champion and has been world number one, but perhaps the most exciting of them to watch is Lorenzo Musetti.

The most striking thing about Musetti is his one-handed backhand, which he says is a result of having admired Roger Federer as a child. But it’s not just a stroke of beauty – the ball leaves his strings with great pace, he can hit through the court as well as generate wicked angles, and despite the exaggerated grip he can adapt it very easily to become a highly effective slice. There’s also his big forehand, and a mindset that has been enhanced by becoming a father in March 2024.

His run to the Monte Carlo final in April 2025, bolstered by ranking points gained from reaching the semi-finals of Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros – plus Wimbledon in 2024 – saw Musetti rise to sixth in the world rankings in June 2025. The top 100 of men’s tennis is populated by numerous Italians, but to have two anchored in the top 10 – HEAD ambassadors Musetti and Sinner – was new territory for the southern European nation.

Practising with his childhood idol

Born in the Tuscan city of Carrara in March 2002, Musetti’s career took off after the Covid-19 pandemic. When he beat Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori to reach the third round of the Rome Masters in September 2020, the world sat up and took notice. When he went on to win a Challenger tournament in Forli two weeks later, the world wasn’t watching as it was consumed by Roland Garros – but the result was noted. The former world junior number one and Australian Open boys’ champion had never beaten a top 100 opponent before – and now he did so in six out of seven matches. All while still only 18.

That earned him practice opportunities with the legendary Big Three. Of practice with fellow HEAD ambassador Novak Djokovic, Musetti says, “Novak speaks Italian really well, so we could communicate in my language. But the practice goal was not to receive advice or anything like that, just to enjoy it.”

His practice session with Federer was on the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. “He is my idol,” Musetti said. “It was a really intense 30-minute session – it was not easy to play against him!” Working with such a trio would turn many heads and bloat a few egos, but not Musetti’s. “All this attention does not make me go crazy. On the contrary it just motivates me.”

One coach throughout his career

Musetti’s progress was steady. He broke into the top 100 in March 2021, he won two tour titles in 2022, which took him into the top 30, he broke the top 20 in 2023, the year he helped Italy win the Davis Cup, and he reached three finals in 2024, taking him to the verge of the top 10. He also pocketed a singles bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He has been coached by the same person since he started playing tennis, Simone Tartarini. When Lorenzo was 14, Tartarini left the club in La Spezia where he was the pro to travel with the player. “I was born not as a coach but as a tennis teacher,” Tartarini told the ATP. “Lorenzo came to me when he was eight years old in my tennis school, and from there I started a path of teaching.” Musetti says he doesn’t imagine ever having a different coach.

Not all players react well to becoming parents, especially at the age of just 22, but Musetti says the birth of his son Ludovico in March 2024 has forced him to practise harder. His results bear him out, but away from practising and fatherhood duties, he has also found time to be a model, appearing in Vogue magazine in August 2025.

In an era of big hitting, Musetti’s all-round game – a blend of pace, angles, and subtlety – makes him a favourite among a wide mix of tennis fans, not just the Italians. At 1.85 metres (6ft 1in), he is the same height as his idol, Federer, and he has a growing family to give him respite from the intensity of tennis.

In the 11th century, a band of Saracens attacked Rome. Their leader had been nicknamed ‘Musetto’ (meaning ‘little snout’) by the people of Pisa, and when Rome was liberated by the Pisans and Musetto and his men were captured, the Pisans nicknamed the prisoners ‘Musetti’. With his all-round game, it should be Musetti who is taking the prisoners on the court over the next five years or so.

Lorenzo Musetti endorses HEAD’s Boom range of racquets.

Words by Richard Eaton and Chris Bowers