"Jannik Sinner was right" - Italian tennis chief makes feelings clear on World No. 2's bold claim after Davis Cup triumph

The chief of tennis in Italy has spoken up about Jannik Sinner's optimism about the country's chances of doing well in the 2025 Davis Cup Finals. Sinner played starring roles in Italy's 2023 and 2024 title triumphs at the prestigious men's international team tennis event, but chose to sit out this year, which sparked controversy. However, despite the World No. 2's absence, Italy still emerged triumphant.

In early November, Sky Sports Italy did an interview with Sinner. Here, the four-time Major champion and former No. 1 was asked about his thoughts on the backlash that came his way, particularly from the Italian media, after he withdrew from this year's Davis Cup Finals. In response, the 24-year-old bemoaned how the media focused on his absence instead of valuing the other Italian Davis Cup players, saying:

"We have an incredible team even without me, and no one’s talking about it. We have to do without the world number 26, who right now is (Luciano) Darderi. We can afford not to call the world number 26 in the Davis Cup because we have (Flavio) Cobolli, (Lorenzo) Musetti, and so many others: we have an incredible doubles team! We can win even like that, we still have Berrettini, so the chances of winning the Davis Cup are high."

Speaking on the back of his country's hat-trick of Davis Cup titles, Angelo Binaghi, the President of Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, said Jannik Sinner was correct in his assessment of the team in terms of going the distance without him.

"Jannik Sinner was right," Binaghi said via Punto de Break.

The 65-year-old added:

"He said we didn’t need him, because we had a strong team, and that’s what happened."

At the 2025 Davis Cup Finals, Italy registered a clean sweep of victories starting from the quarterfinals, as they took out Austria, Belgium and then Spain, with Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli producing monumental performances throughout the campaign. Remarkably, the doubles players in the team didn't even have to play.

"We felt also the players that were not here, but it was like they were here, like Jannik Sinner" - Italian Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri

Team Italy celebrates its 2025 Davis Cup title triumph in Bologna, Italy (Source: Getty)

Lorenzo Musetti, another Italian singles player, also pulled out of the 2025 Davis Cup Finals following the conclusion of his ATP Finals campaign. The void left by him in Team Italy was subsequently filled by Lorenzo Sonego.

Following the team's title triumph in Bologna, captain Filippo Volandri turned emotional and lauded the entire group of players, including absentees like Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.

"As a group, what I said, we had the power to manage these moments. We felt also the players that were not here, but it was like they were here, like Jannik, like (Matteo) Arnaldi, like (Lorenzo) Musetti. It’s a big, big team and only if you have a big team, you can reach this unbelievable result. It’s incredible," Volandri said via TNT Sports.

Italy became the first country to win three successive Davis Cup titles since the USA did it starting in the late 1960s.