Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport has picked Lorenzo Musetti as the Italian Athlete of the Year. He is described by the newspaper as "the last poet left holding a racket" and "a living demonstration of what a blend of class and perseverance can achieve".
Musetti, 23 years old, ended the year as World No. 8 and achieved a career best of World No. 6 in June, entering the ATP Top 10 for the first time. Musetti did not win any titles this year, but reached semifinals in Roland Garros, quarterfinals at the US Open, and was runner-up in Athens, Chengdu and Monte Carlo. He didn't take part in the Davis Cup this year, but La Gazzetta focuses on other "firsts", like a top-ten finish, his first Masters 1000 final, his first qualification for the ATP Finals.
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His choice has surprised tennis fans and there's confusion in the comments section of the Instagram post of the newspaper on Musetti's choice over Jannik Sinner, who won five titles, including two majors (Wimbledon and Australian Open) and the ATP Finals and finished the year as World No. 2.
It's not like the Gazzetta doesn't repeat winners (the sprinter Marcell Jacobs won the award in 2021 and 2022, Valentino Rossi won the award five times). Some attribute Sinner's snub (who won last year's award) to his controversial decision to miss the Davis Cup finals, with many Italians seeing the decision to prioritize his individual career as a treason to the country -Italy eventually won without him-. Others remember that Sinner started the year with a three month penalty on a doping case, factors that could have tip the scale in Musetti's favour, whose rise in the ATP rankings, despite the lack of major successes, more deserving of the award.
Do you think Jannik Sinner deserved the award more than Lorenzo Musetti for best Italian athlete of the year?