Lorenzo Musetti’s recent rise up the ATP Rankings and into big-title contention has been one of the biggest stories of recent months.
Long recognised as a remarkable talent, the Italian often struggled with consistency and the physicality of the men’s game.
However, the 23-year-old has made rapid improvements in recent months, largely thanks to the support and guidance of coach Simone Tartarini.
Musetti was just nine years old when he first met Tartarini, and the two have continued their player-coach relationship for close to a decade and a half as of 2025.
The Italian first broke through at the French Open in 2021, reaching the fourth round, and then won ATP 500 titles in Hamburg and Napoli in 2022.
However, it was in the summer of 2024 that Musetti, under Tartarini’s guidance, began to emerge as a force on the ATP Tour.
Down at 30th in the world, he reached the first grass-court final of his career at the Queen’s Club, and then reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon.
Tartarini then coached Musetti to a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, making his charge the first Italian player to ever win a singles medal at the Olympics.
Since then, Musetti has gone on to reach three further finals, finishing as the Umag and Chengdu runner-up, and then reaching his first Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo in April 2025.
That was the start of a significant clay-court swing for the 23-year-old, who went on to reach the last four of the Madrid Open and Italian Open, before making a second Slam semi-final at Roland Garros.
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Under Tartarini’s tutelage, Musetti has reached a current career-high of world No 7, making him one of just six Italian men in ATP Rankings history to reach the top 10.
Speaking to the ATP Tour in 2025, Musetti opened up about the touching bond he and Tartarini shared after their years spent together.
“We know each other and started working [together] when I was nine,” said Musetti.
“He really is a second father to me. He is a figure of my family, I would say.
“I really need him to just to look at him, to understand what he’s thinking. Definitely, he’s one of the most important people in my life and that’s what I think you can see when we win, we share a lot of emotions, like in Monte Carlo.
“All my family were there. Simone was getting emotional, myself as well. It’s a special relationship that we want to continue, and we want to improve as well.”
Regardless of the remainder of the French Open, Musetti looks set for a new career-high ranking.
However, could he potentially rise even further in the coming months – and contend for Grand Slam titles?
Having overseen Musetti’s career from the very beginning, Tartarini believes that the best version of Musetti is yet to come.
“Inside of my school, Lorenzo came in when he was very young. It felt easy, two times, three times every week,” commented Tartarini.
“And the, step by step, under 10, under 12, Lorenzo played very good tennis. I have a good relationship every day inside the court, outside the court. Lorenzo is a beautiful boy.
“Now he’s a big player, a big man, with a wife, with a child – totally different to when he started with me.
“In one year or two years, we will see the best Musetti. The mentality will be the best.”
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