Fabio Fognini Announces His Retirement from Professional Tennis
The Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini, who reached the top ten in the world, announced his retirement from professional tennis this Wednesday at Wimbledon. The news comes after his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in an exciting five-set match on the first day of the tournament. Fognini, 38 years old, battled for more than four and a half hours against Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion. The final score was 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 2-6 and 6-1 in a match played on center court. This defeat extended Fognini’s losing streak to ten consecutive matches at the tournament level, including a 0-7 record in 2025. Although he had announced that he would end his career at the end of this season, he decided to bring forward his retirement and announced it at a press conference at the All England Club.This was the 63rd Grand Slam event for Fognini, whose best result was reaching the quarterfinals at the 2011 French Open. However, he was unable to play that round due to a thigh injury, which allowed Novak Djokovic to advance. Fognini is married to Flavia Pennetta, 2015 US Open champion. After the match against Alcaraz, Fognini asked for one of the Spaniard’s shirts as a gift for the eldest of his three children with Pennetta. Known for his temper on the court, Fognini was the protagonist of several incidents that earned him numerous fines. In 2019, he was fined $3,000 at Wimbledon for expressing during a match his wish that “a bomb would explode at the club.” In 2014, he received a record fine of $27,500 for a series of altercations. In 2017, he was placed on a two-year probation by the Grand Slam Board after insulting a chair umpire at the US Open and being expelled from the doubles event of that tournament. Fognini is retiring from tennis with nine ATP singles titles, the last of which was in Monte Carlo in 2019. That same year, he reached number 9 in the ATP ranking, being the first Italian to enter the top 10 since 1979. Before Wimbledon, he was ranked 138th.It’s the best way to say goodbye.
Fabio Fognini
