Tennis

At the Internationals record number of spectators at 418,000

At the closing press conference, Fitp president Angelo Binaghi rattled off the record numbers for the 2026 edition

by Marco Bellinazzo

17 May 2026

ANGELO BINAGHI PRESIDENTE FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA TENNIS E PADEL IMAGOECONOMICA

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Sports and Health
The tennis phenomenon
Economic and social impact

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

"We have passed the 400 thousand attendance mark - 418,815 excluding those on the ground today. With the insiders (around 161,000) we therefore exceed half a million admissions. An excellent figure, which is affected by the rainy days and which would certainly have been higher. We broke the daily record twice, exceeding 43,000 on site, and we sold out in the last 10 sessions. The future outlook is that we will grow with better weather conditions. The next decisive step will be with the coverage of Central, hopefully in 2028. There will be an extra two thousand seats that we would have filled very easily this year, which means an extra 35 thousand seats".

In the customary press conference at the closing of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Fitp president Angelo Binaghi outlined the record numbers for the 2026 edition.

The increase in attendance since 2025 is 509%, thanks to the tournament and site expansions but also to the growth of tennis in Italia. Unique spectators were around 243,000, 24% from abroad.

Sports and Health

As for the coverage of the Central, 'the goal is to start in June immediately after the Premier Padel for the Central coverage,' Diego Nepi Molineris, the CEO of Sport and Health, the company 100% owned by the Ministry of the Economy, which owns the Foro Italico and organises the tennis event together with Fitp, specified during the conference. "We will use 65 million resources that also come from the profits of the Internationals. The success of events such as this one allows us to invest in public sports facilities, especially in the suburbs, such as the playgrounds of the Illumina project, and in free access to grassroots sport, with the voucher programme for the less well-off'.

The tennis phenomenon

"There is a clear upward trend in the passion for Italia tennis that will play a role," explained the federal president. "Some important steps have been taken on structural changes to the tournament, including the expansion of the site. International spectators have grown by four percentage points, in addition to a predictable increase in domestic demand. We must also study this growth, which certainly has a value induced by the beauty of Rome and the long tail of the Jubilee, but it also has internal reasons, with tennis fans attracted by the Italia miracle that we also see at the Atp Finals in Turin'.

The economic and social impact

This passion generated 'an economic impact of billions of euros, without any public contribution', Binaghi further emphasised.

Boston Consulting Group estimated 456 million in direct impact, i.e., organisation and spectator expenses, 375 million in indirect impact, i.e., product and service suppliers' revenues, and about 171 in induced impact, i.e., increased income on the resident population. Jobs created or maintained amounted to 7,847. Tax revenues amounted to EUR 165 million.

Outdoor tennis is the discipline with the greatest social return, far superior to all other sports. "And there are 7,000 new and stable players over 3,000. There are also obvious benefits for the national health system,' Binaghi emphasised, 'Tennis makes one much healthier than all other sports and extends the life span of those who practice it continuously by about nine and a half years. The State's investment in the Fitp is the one with the most profit in terms of savings for the national health system'.

"Tennis generates a fiscal and reputational impact not comparable to other sports, also thanks to the extraordinary results of our players. We are an opportunity for the government also for the development of grassroots activity. We only receive 16 million from the state, 6.4 per cent of the value of our production, which exceeded 243 million euros in 2025."

The theme of TV rights

"Last year's audience on Rai is double this year's and the channel problem is the result of agreements made years ago that have done us incalculable damage. We are measuring the impact of the lack of a generalist channel like Rai Uno and Rai Due. The last matches in 2025 were broadcast by Rai Uno and there is a very big difference between the channel broadcasting this year and the generalist TVs,' Binaghi finally added, speaking about the commercialisation of free-to-air tennis rights.

"We won't allow Sinner, Musetti and Paolini to be seen on the big channels in Italia because they don't just channel fans but also involve all the people who don't go looking for tennis but find it in front of them. I have proposed to several Coni presidents to make a TV channel but they never did it because they were afraid of the success of this channel, because they would have to make two or three'.

As for the relationship with Atp Media, which manages the TV rights of the major tournaments centrally and in which the Fipt has a small capital share, 'we are preaching in the wilderness. The members of Atp Media should push in every possible way for free-to-air to be predominant, because this - both in the short and long term - brings more spectators, more attendance and more centrality to the sport. It is a short-sighted view that some tennis federations in other countries do not understand that this would be the tool with which to become more popular in the world. We are proud to be in the minority and perhaps this is our strength'.