Lavazza: 'We have believed in Sinner since he was 17'

Knowing his integrity, his iron discipline, his mentality, not for a moment. We were always sure it was an accident. And apart from the medical reports - which confirmed that the amount of the substance was so microscopic that it did not contribute anything - we were already more than convinced beforehand that it was unfounded.

What are the common values between Sinner and Lavazza? What has it been like to see their growth over the years?

The determination to reach the goal, the spirit of sacrifice, the leveraging of one's abilities, including the ability to suffer. Even in business you can fall but then you have to have the strength to get back up, you don't have to win all the points but win the right ones; understand that you have limits and that what matters is to do better than the person in front.

Why did Lavazza choose tennis? How did this link come about?

It came about by chance, in 2011 Img (the American sports marketing company, ndr) contacted us to ask if we had any interest in coming Wimbledon. I was the company's marketing director at the time and I agreed. I had never been there, I had the chance to see the environment where the world's greatest were playing, from Nadal to Federer to Djokovic. I was impressed by the venue, which I had always seen on TV admiring the sanctity of the centre court. I realised there was potential for coffee, considering the number of people who came every day. It was a product that was missing, it was there but without a real identity. It seemed to me to be an extraordinary place to have coffee, a magnificent huge coffee shop that could be used in so many ways: for players, for the public, for club members, for the press, for the queue, with the possibility of customising the offer and the cafeterias. Coffee and tennis go very well together. We began to realise that it was a tool to create a network of relationships, to offer a special experience to our stakeholders. So much so that after Wimbledon, in 2013 we started sponsoring Roland Garros, then we entered the Us Open, then the Australian Open where we were a few years...with Covid we had to make choices and we left Melbourne. Right now China is an important market for us.

And Italy? 

We are at the Finals. Turin is our city, it was important to spend money to bring the tournament there - it was not guaranteed - and to support the project when the city submitted its candidature: we were a very accredited tennis company.

Will you continue in Milan as well? 

We don't know yet, it's to be decided, meanwhile we still have a few years in Turin. The Finals are a very good product, for the audience. They are well organised, the quality level is very high, the audience is enthusiastic, there is a lot of technology and a lot of show. It's the only indoor tournament we do.

Is there actual, empirically measurable feedback from sponsorship? What is your experience?

With tennis we have built a path of great visibility for the company, we have managed to get millions of people to taste our product. It is an investment that has given us a lot back, and we will continue to do so. Tennis has also given us a lot on the communication front, I'm thinking of the ideas to do engagement activities on social media. It's a vehicle for promotion and contacts at all levels. And then it is a sport that has grown so much, it has become a global phenomenon, the audience is large, it is a sport followed by people of all types: younger, more mature, there are no gender differences. The audience also works: no deteriorating phenomena, you cheer, you applaud, nothing more.