Binaghi: 'From Atp Finals, Internationals and Davis about two billion impact'
Fitp president's challenges for 2025: more tennis in schools and on free-to-air TV, and the market for major world events
5' min read
5' min read
Italy, more and more the hub of world tennis, will in the coming years host the Atp Finals (between Turin and Milan until 2030), the Internazionali di Roma (which is gradually taking on the role of a 'fifth' Slam with the extra-large 14-day version) and the Davis Cup Finals (until 2027). The three major international tennis events (apart from the Slams) will produce an economic impact on the territory of close to EUR 2 billion.
"For the Finals, as surveyed by Boston Consulting, the impact was 503 million and an added value for GDP of 243.2 million," explained Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, "also taking into account how much was generated in the weeks before and after for the set-up and break-down. A more correct analysis, if you like, than the one by Ernst & Young, who calculated an impact of over 630 million last year for the Internationals, without taking these latter factors into account. For 2025 in Rome we already have a 50% higher presale and with a doubled site, with more courts, commercial areas and spectators we aim to achieve an economic impact on the territory of one billion. So by adding the Davis Cup we are moving towards two billion. Without considering the reputational impact and the value of the know-how created for the organisers. But let me tell you something else about Rome'.
Please.
'The Internazionali d'Italia is the only high-level sporting event in Italy that does not have one euro of public contribution. To those 'inattentive' sports executives who attack us saying that we do it in a facility built by CONI, I reply that it was built with public money and that we are the only ones who use it by paying an important rent and giving back to the State through Sport and Health, which has been our partner since 2005, millions of euro in fees. Money used to improve the facility for the good of all. I would add that for the Winter Olympics where we were up against only one other country, the government will spend about 5 thousand million euro. To make five years of Finals, for which they had 39 competitors at the beginning, including London, Singapore and Tokyo, they spent 81 and only recovered five times as much in tax revenue."
When you picked up the baton in 2001, the Italian tennis movement - which tonight, 4 December, celebrates its much-deserved Grand Gala - was on the brink of default, with less than 130,000 members, a federal turnover of less than 15 million euros and Italian tennis players on strike against the Federation. This year tennis Italy has 'gone too far'. The titles won are hard to count. How was it possible to build this phenomenon?.
