Reaching the top 10 was a huge milestone for her, and in an interview the famous tennis player revealed that this was an important moment for all Italian tennis players.
She drew a parallel between herself and Sinner and explained how much that step meant to others who came after.
“I broke a wall, for all Italian women: it is no coincidence that from that moment on, we girls started a whole new cycle. If Flavia did it, we can do it too, was the message. It is a bit like the effect that Sinner has on men today. But that wall, on the men’s side, was broken by Fabio, my husband, and not by Jannik.”– she said, as translated by Corriere della Sera.
As a child, it was clear that she had potential for sports, and she also revealed that she was very fearless. Moreover, she was extremely stubborn and often did various antics.
“Hyperactive and not at all afraid. Extremely stubborn: I asked why everywhere. When I was six, I went to school with a huge backpack on my shoulders, hand in hand with my friend Alberto. We did all kinds of things.”
Childhood anecdote
Her childhood was clearly filled with happy moments, but her mischief could sometimes lead to serious problems. As a child, the famous tennis player had several adventures with her friends, and sometimes in these adventures she crossed the line with them.
However, she remembers such moments with nostalgia, aware that things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. She channeled her hyperactivity into tennis training and became one of the best Italian tennis players.
“We spent our days in the courtyard of our house in Brindisi, among bicycles, footballs and rackets. We were not allowed to go outside because there was a big descent with heavy traffic. Alberto and I decided to take a risk and have a timed race: whoever reached the big bend near the garbage bins first on his bike would win. I flew down the hill at full speed, Alberto also took off. Then a bus came, overtook him and the air current knocked him over. I thought: oh my God, he’s dead. He got up with his face covered in blood. I tried to clean him up, but he was in really bad shape. When we got back, my mother and my grandmother gave me an epic story. Bicycles were banned for two months.– she said.
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