With a flair for audacious shot-making, a fast-rising ranking and a growing list of significant wins, Lorenzo Musetti is increasingly popular with both fans and sponsors.
The 19-year-old from Italy began his surge up the rankings in late 2020 and continued that in 2021, becoming one of just two teenagers currently inside the ATP top 100.
On court
Musetti will arrive at Australian Open 2022 three years on from capturing the boys’ singles title, a result which helped him secure the junior world No.1 ranking.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to stall his progress as he targeted the pro tour, he used the sport’s pause to full advantage, explaining: “I worked a lot, especially on the physical part. I gained a lot of muscle and weight. I think this thing gave me a lot of power, strength to compete at this level.”
When tennis resumed, Musetti accepted a qualifying wildcard at the 2020 Rome Masters and took it all the way to the third round of the main draw, beating Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori along the way. He then won his first ATP Challenger title in Forli, Italy and next advanced to his first ATP semifinal in Sardinia.
In the space of just five weeks, he’d slashed his ranking from 249th to 123rd.
He cracked the top 100 in early 2021 by reaching the semifinals of the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco – successively upsetting Diego Schwartzman, Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov – and went 30-16 in the first half of the season to effectively halve his ranking again.
That run culminated with a fourth-round appearance on debut at Roland Garros; he even led world No.1 Novak Djokovic by two-sets-to-love at Court Philippe Chatrier before his body eventually betrayed him.
While his progress slowed as the season continued, Musetti did peak at a career-high ranking of No.57 in September.
Notable stat
One reason Musetti’s defeat of three-time major champion Wawrinka at the 2020 Rome Masters turned heads?
It was the young Italian’s first ever tour-level win.
X-factor
To say Musetti has flair is a significant understatement.
“I think my game style, it’s a little bit retro,” he explained, perhaps a nod to his one-handed backhand and incredible hands at the net.
Musetti had French fans on their feet when he pulled off some absurd winners in his third-round Roland Garros victory over Marco Cecchinato.
Shot of the year⁉️ ?
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2021
?? Lorenzo Musetti will make your jaw drop!
Shot of the day by @OPPO #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/GTFsNZ3JIW
And the TennisTV team even felt compelled to produce a video entirely dedicated to his shot-making prowess in Acapulco.
Musetti’s ATP profile reveals that “if he wasn't a tennis player, he would be an actor” and it is clear he embraces the spectacle of performing in front of fans, who lap up his in-match and post-victory celebrations.
Off court
It hasn’t taken Musetti long to embody the glamorous lifestyle of an international tennis player.
He now resides in Monte Carlo, has partnerships with Rolex, Bolon eyewear and Kia Italy, and even landed a magazine cover when he modelled for the Italian edition of Esquire.
But there are many more layers to the emerging star, who values education and completed his high school studies in mid 2021.
“Retro” describes his approach to life as well as his playing style; coach Simone Tartarini revealed that the music-loving Musetti purchased a turntable and opts for vinyls from the 70s and 80s.
Musetti said he doesn’t really like video games – he doesn’t own a gaming console – and has said he would never open a TikTok account. He also has no presence on Twitter.
But he is active on Instagram, and his account is flourishing; in early June Musetti thanked fans for helping him amass 100,000 followers, a number which has since risen to 172K.
Musetti also has a tattoo on his left tricep, which represents “my heartbeat pierced by a racket”.
He said…
“I think the juniors career helped me a lot. I was always playing with pressure, especially when I won the Australian Open juniors. I mean, the pressure from media and from other things (has) grown a lot. I started to manage the pressure when I was young.”
On setting up his fourth-round meeting with Djokovic at Roland Garros: “All the sacrifice and hard work I did in the childhood became reality now. So I'm just enjoying the moment and I will try to do my best.”
Experts are saying...
"He's definitely a competitor that I will take seriously and a player that will be challenging me in the next couple of years. I see him at the top."
- Stefanos Tsitsipas