Jannik Sinner was not named as part of the Italian team for the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage, which starts next week as Italy hopes to secure their spot at the Finals in Malaga.
Italy, of course, are the defending champions after being led to glory last year by Sinner himself. He delivered stunning performances, beating Novak Djokovic en route to the trophy and becoming the most valuable player for his country.
It was a huge moment for Italian tennis, which has been blossoming in recent years. They have many young and upcoming players, such as Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi, along with veterans, such as Matteo Berrettini, who isn’t even that old.
He's still in his peak years, as is Sinner, who is by far the strongest player from that country. Even in women's tennis, the country is enjoying historic success, with Jasmine Paolini making two Grand Slam finals this year and Sara Errani experiencing a resurgence in doubles.
This upcoming Davis Cup Finals group stage for Italy will have to go by without Sinner, as Team Captain and former ATP player Filippo Volandri left him out off the Italian the squad.
The team consists of Matteo Berrettini, Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori, and Simone Bolelli. It's a mix of experience and youth with the Italian playing host to their group in Bologna.
Group A, including Italy, features Belgium, the Netherlands, and Brazil. It’s an interesting group of teams with some exciting players that will play. All teams will play three ties against the other three teams, with the top two teams advancing to the Finals in Malaga later this year.
Italy is favored to top their group due to being home and the defending champions, but it could get tricky without Sinner. The team is strong enough without him because they have Berrettini, who has played well this year, and Arnaldi and Cobolli, who can both win a match.
The doubles pairing is experienced and plays regularly together, so it's a nice blend of both. After announcing the team, Team Captain Volandri explained that his decision was made after reflection and discussion between all parties involved, including coaches and players.
"Today's choices are the result of the reflections and discussions of these days with the whole team, present and absent. With respect to the latter, as always we have tried to match the needs of the team with those of my boys, because we have the objective of passing the round also protecting their physical and psychological health to remain competitive until the end of the season!"
It's clear that with a long stay in New York, Sinner was in a tricky spot regarding his schedule because playing so soon wouldn't be the best idea. Volandri, however, explained that Sinner was willing to play, but after discussion, it was decided that he didn't have to.
The idea behind this move was to give him time to recover properly. Still, even without him, Italy are the top favorites, and they will try to confirm that from September 10th to 15th in Bologna.
"As for Jannik who has given us his availability for the final part of the commitment in Bologna, in agreement with the federal leaders and the boy's staff, we have decided to relieve him from the call-up allowing him a full recovery, and to have the team complete from the initial match."