How to follow Wimbledon 2024 on the BBC
Everything you need to know about Wimbledon 2024 on the BBC.
Everything you need to know about Wimbledon 2024 on the BBC.
Former British number one Emma Raducanu is one of four Grand Slam champions to receive a wildcard to play at Wimbledon.
There is no place like home. That showed when Jannik Sinner returned to his hometown of Sexten in the Dolomites last week to celebrate his ascent to the top of the PIF ATP Rankings.
“If you imagine coming from here, a tennis player, it’s very, very strange,” Sinner said in a special behind-the-scenes documentary of the first Italian World No. 1’s visit.
The 22-year-old provided a film crew unprecedented access throughout his trip. Sinner gave fans a look at his life growing up in the mountains. The special feature helps tell the story of how Sinner evolved from a kid in a small town known for skiing to the best tennis player in the world.
“I have my house here, and here is the other house with [my] grandma and grandpa and they always cooked for me and then after, I had to wear the ski stuff because I went to skiing immediately from two to four, and then twice a week I was playing tennis and that was it,” Sinner said. “You got it on camera!”
[ATP APP]The Italian added: “We played football and we were all the time together with friends and nobody had a phone. We only had a watch and the parents they said, ‘Look, at five you should be at home’. And sometimes you arrived at 5:15 and then the parents, they got p****d a little bit!”
Watch the full documentary above and click here to read about all the players who have reached No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]It is only fitting that Luciano Darderi’s two title runs this season, one on the ATP Tour and another on the ATP Challenger Tour, have come in Argentina and Italy, the two countries where the 22-year-old has split time throughout his life.
Born in the coastal town of Villa Gesell, Argentina, Darderi was ‘around five years old’ when he received his first tennis racquet as a gift from his grandmother. Little did he and his grandmother know that ‘Luli’ would become a Top 40 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, with his father Luciano as his coach.
“I remember when I was six or seven, I would go by bicycle with my dad and play together,” Darderi recently told ATPTour.com. “It was a court at a hotel, close to the forest and beach. After 10 or 11, I was going to Buenos Aires because they play more tennis there and I started playing more tournaments.
“It’s really special for me and my dad too. We have arrived at the level, the ranking, the dream that we’ve had together. This fast, at 22 years old, is really special. In one year, we are doing a lot of things and I think we have a lot more things to do.”
[ATP APP]Set to face German Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round of the Terra Wortmann Open on Wednesday, Darderi realised his potential competing at junior tournaments aged 10, when he started spending six months in Argentina and the other half of the year in Italy, where his grandfather resided. “I started to play 100 per cent and I started to think about playing professionally,” said Darderi, who moved to Italy at age 11.
That young Luciano who was bouncing between two countries and dabbling in three different languages (Spanish, Italian and English) would be proud of everything he has accomplished in his first full season on the ATP Tour.
Darderi enjoyed a surprise run at February’s ATP 250 event in Cordoba, where as a qualifier ranked No. 136 in the PIF ATP Rankings, he went all the way to lift the trophy. Prior to that week, Darderi had just one tour-level match win in two appearances.
“It was incredible to start 2024 making the Top 100. It was very special,” Darderi said. “Coming from qualies in my first ATP Tour tournament of the year, winning in Argentina, it was amazing.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/06/18/23/31/darderi-turinch-2024-autographs.jpg” style=”width:100%” alt=”Luciano Darderi greets fans at the Turin Challenger in May.” />
Luciano Darderi greets fans at the Turin Challenger in May. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
Now at a career-high World No. 34, Darderi last week built upon his breakthrough season with a dominant run at the Perugia Challenger. The top seed did not drop a set en route to becoming the third player this season to win on the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour, alongside Alejandro Tabilo and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Darderi’s success on the ATP Challenger Tour last year preceded his current rise. He tallied 42 match wins at that level in 2023, third most behind Argentines Francisco Comesana and Facundo Diaz Acosta. A highlight came at the Lima Challenger in November, Darderi’s penultimate tournament of 2023, when he defeated Alejandro Tabilo and Mariano Navone en route to the title. Navone and Tabilo are now inside the Top 30 amidst their own breakthrough seasons.
“After Lima, I was thinking I have the level to be in the Top 100,” Darderi said. “I think playing Challengers was helping me a lot. The Challengers are a very high level and it’s very close to the ATP level I think. Playing a lot of matches, practising during the tournaments. When you play a lot of matches, it gives you a lot of confidence for the next level.”
Darderi will not be short on confidence Wednesday, when he looks to build upon last week’s ATP Challenger Tour title run in his first-round clash against Struff in Halle. It will be Darderi’s first ATP Tour grass-court match.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Britain’s Andy Murray begins what is likely to be his final Queen’s appearance with a gritty win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
Carlos Alcaraz begins his title defence and five-time champion Andy Murray is also in action at Queen’s – follow live on the BBC.
Carlos Alcaraz continued where he left off on the British grass by beating Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo at Queen’s.
Britain’s Andy Murray begins what is likely to be his final Queen’s appearance with a gritty win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic will compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.