Seppi claims Italian federation denied him chance to play at home before retirement

During his two-decade long career, Seppi won 3 ATP singles titles, earned more than $11.8 million in prize money, and reached the fourth round at the Grand Slams on six occasions

Andreas Seppi at the ATP 250 Emilia-Romagna Open 2021 Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

October 17, 2022

Italian veteran Andreas Seppi has claimed that the Italian Tennis Federation did not give him a wild card for last week’s Florence Open or this week’s ATP event in Naples, denying him a chance to bod farewell to the sport in front of his home fans.

The 38-year-old Seppi, a former top 20 player, announced his retirement last week and was hoping to play in front of his home fans one last time at one of the two ATP 250 events.

But Seppi said in an Instagram post that his request for a wild card for the events was denied by the Italian Tennis Federation.

Andreas Seppi on Instragram.

I know Italy has a great young generation, etc, but this is so disrespectful for a great career. pic.twitter.com/auGuRMvjdj
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 16, 2022

In a career that spanned two decades, Seppi won 3 ATP singles titles, earned more than $11.8 million in career prize money, and reached the fourth round at the Grand Slams on six occasions, four of which came at the Australian Open.

It was in Melbourne itself that Seppi scored his most famous win – upsetting then four-time champion Roger Federer in the third round in four sets, having lost all 10 previous matches against the Swiss player.

Seppi also ran a streak of 66 straight Grand Slam appearances – the third longest of all time behind Feliciano Lopez’s streak of 79 and Fernando Verdasco’s 67 appearances.

Pretty pathetic – John Millman on Seppi wild card request being turned down

Australian tennis player John Millman was among those who hit out at the Italian Tennis Federation for their lack of respect to the Italian in a social media post.

‘Andreas Seppi not getting a wildcard into a tour event in Italy to end his career is a joke. The guy has had a brilliant career, represented his country at Davis Cups and Olympic Games and the Italian Federation can’t give a WC? Pretty pathetic.”

Andreas Seppi not getting a wildcard into a tour event in Italy to end his career is a joke. The guy has had a brilliant career, represented his country at Davis Cups and Olympic Games and the Italian Federation can’t give a WC? Pretty pathetic.
— John Millman (@johnhmillman) October 17, 2022