Andreas Seppi has announced that he will retire from professional tennis at the end of this season
Italian tennis star Andreas Seppi, who announced his retirement last week has been denied a chance to bid goodbye to the sport in style on home turf. The heartbroken Italian took to social media to express his disappointment and sadness over the Italian tennis Federation’s cold response to his request. The 38-year-old Seppi is set to retire from the ATP tour after two decades of professional tennis.
“I would have loved to play in the Florence and Naples tournaments to say goodbye to tennis, but unfortunately the Italian Tennis Federation has not allowed me, claiming that giving a wild card to a retiring tennis player would be a waste”, Seppi wrote on social media after he was denied wildcard entry to his home tournaments in Naples and Florence. Seppi is currently ranked outside 250 in the world, so there is no way he is going to make either of the events on merit. However, the veteran expected wildcard entries as a mark of respect for his contribution to Italian tennis.
Andreas Seppi has been the flag-bearer of Italian tennis for a long time
Seppi has had a stellar career as a professional player. He is the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces and also has a ATP doubles title to his name. In 2013, he was at the peak of his game and reached his career best ranking of World No.18 in singles.
Seppi is still widely remembered for victory over Roger Federer at the 2015 Australian Open. An unseeded Seppi caused a major upset by beating second seed and four-time champion Roger Federer in the third round, after having lost to him in ten previous meetings.
It is quite a surprise that a national hero like Seppi wasn’t given the chance to play a farewell match on home turf. The ATP Naples tournament is currently underway and will end on Sunday, while the the Florence Open concluded last weekend. Seppi has had a career that deserves to be celebrated and we wish him the best for his future endeavours.
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