Jannik Sinner didn’t quite make it all the way in the French Open, but the Italian will not be too disappointed given his stunning year so far.
The 22-year-old kicked things off with his first-ever Grand Slam title, lifting the Australian Open trophy in January.
That hard-court success was immediately followed by victory at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, a win that saw Sinner rise to third in the ATP rankings.
Yet more success followed at the Miami Open in March, with all of those efforts culminating in a world number one spot earlier this month.
The youngster made history with the achievement, with Sinner becoming the first Italian to reach the singles summit since computerised rankings began in 1973.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz among the next generation of stars
His first major test at the very top comes at Wimbledon, having been knocked out of the French Open semi-finals by Carlos Alcaraz.
The new world number two came out on top 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Paris, with Andy Roddick blown away by how hard the duo were hitting the ball and how well they were moving on the court.
The two young stars now occupy spots one and two in the world, marking the first time a pair of 22-and-under players have held the positions since Roger Federer and Roddick in August 2004.
But Sinner is not the only Italian man making a splash in the rankings, with the 22-year-old one of five Italians in the men’s top 50.
Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Arnaldi, Luciano Darderi and Flavio Cobolli are on the board, and remarkably all are aged 23 or under.
Jannik Sinner inspires Lorenzo Carboni at the French Open
But there is yet another Italian who has impressed lately, with 18-year-old Lorenzo Carboni making it all the way to the semi-finals of the junior competition at the French Open.
The teenager will have been thrilled with his run in Paris, and can take plenty of comfort from Sinner’s exit at the same stage of the main draw.
He looks set to be in for a very bright future following that lengthy journey on the clay, but again he wasn’t the only youngster to shine earlier this month.
His compatriot Federico Cina also made a huge impact, with the 17-year-old finishing as runner-up in the junior doubles alongside Rei Sakamoto.
A round of 16 exit was suffered in the singles, but the former has now moved up three places to sixth in the junior rankings thanks to his efforts on the clay.
Is Jasmine Paolini heading for her first Grand Slam?
Back to the senior game, however, and there was, of course, one Italian women’s star who made plenty of headlines in the French capital.
A stunning run saw Jasmine Paolini reach the final in Paris, with the 28-year-old finally stopped by the unstoppable Iga Swiatek.
A career-high number seven WTA ranking has now gone her way, with the Italian having also reached the women’s doubles finals alongside compatriot Sara Errani.
Having clinched success at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, Paolini will now have grand plans for the near future.
She has played a key role in helping further Italian tennis, which is clearly in a very healthy place, a situation that perhaps first emerged when Italy won their first Davis Cup in 47 years last November.
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