With the Sinner effect, tennis overtakes football in revenue in Italy
Italy's tennis and padel federation (FITP) has had more members than the football federation (FIGC) since 2024 — 1,162,477 against 1,123,054 — and its revenue reached 240 million euros last year against the FIGC's 214 million. The effect is credited to Jannik Sinner.
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A Itália é tetracampeã mundial de futebol, mas não disputa uma Copa desde 2018. Já nas quadras, os italianos lideram desde abril de 2026, posto que também ocuparam de junho de 2024 a agosto de 2025. O nome por trás disso é Jannik Sinner, que encerrou a temporada 2026 mais cedo para tratar uma lesão no joelho.
O efeito transborda: a federação do tênis e do padel (FITP) passou a ter mais filiados do que a do futebol (FIGC) a partir de 2024. Naquele ano foram 1.162.477 contra 1.123.054 — quase 40 mil de vantagem — e em 2025 o total da entidade do tênis chegou a 1.254.153.
Em receita, a FITP, que também administra beach tennis e pickleball no país, passou de 240 milhões de euros no último ano, perto de R$ 1,4 bilhão; a FIGC ficou em 214 milhões de euros, cerca de R$ 1,2 bilhão.
A rede de prática acompanha: são 14 mil treinadores, 10 mil árbitros, cerca de 2.500 escolas e mais de quatro mil clubes filiados.
"Personalidades de destaque também estimulam o interesse pelos esportes. Quando os jovens encontram alguém que sirva de exemplo, isso gera esse efeito", disse Luciano Buonfiglio, presidente do CONI, que citou ainda o peso dos grandes torneios e do ATP Finals de Turim.
O estudo, do jornal Il Sole 24 Ore, cruzou dados de 48 federações e somou 6.069.891 filiados — terceiro recorde anual seguido. Depois do tênis, os italianos se interessam por vôlei (359.797), basquete (320.769) e atletismo (292.599).
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