Musetti: «I would like to play doubles with my children. I have a dilemma: what if I had less talent but more character?”

End of the year, it’s time to migrate. On January 1st, pack the certainties gained in 2025 into your suitcase, the new Lorenzo Musetti takes off towards Hong Kongthe first step in the season that would like to confirm him in the attic of world tennis, possibly top 5. Christmas with a special gift under the tree – Leandro born on November 29th, close to Italy’s reconquest of the Davis Cup without Sinner or Musetti – warmed Lorenzo’s heart; the off-season in Montecarlo also saw the entry of an additional figure into the team: José Perlas joins the historic coach Simone Tartarini. The goal is to push beyond the Pillars of Hercules of the semi-finals in Paris and Wimbledon, qualify for the ATP Finals in time, and much more. There is no shortage of topics, with the number 7 in the ranking.

With what thoughts in mind do we start again, Lorenzo?
«With the desire to get back into the game and with the belief that it was an off-season of changes. Perlas will help Simone and me to develop the improvable aspects of our work. We dealt with technique but also with nutrition and physique. I needed to take some time for myself, one of the reasons why I gave up on Davis.”

To understand what?
«The reason for the injuries, for example. I carried out visits, analyses, investigations: now I have a clearer understanding of my parameters and my limits, then of course you always have to throw the ball over there.”

Does choosing a figure like Perlas mean focusing above all on red?
«But no, why? José has led all his players to the best ranking, opening up horizons on any surface. Of course he is Spanish, raised on the land, but he is a person of great experience. The initial phase was between the two of us: we talked to each other for a long time, and the ideas matched. Let’s hope it doesn’t take too long to metabolize the change.”

Are you leaving for China and Australia with the whole family?
«I’m leaving with Simone and Josè. A month away together to find alchemy. Veronica and the children are staying at home: I won’t see them until February. Unfortunately I’m used to the distance. Leandro took away sleep especially from his mother: while training, I can’t afford not to rest. And Veronica is very good at not making me worry about it.”

How do you get forgiven?
«I cook, I like it and it relaxes me. And then I clean the stove (Veronica laughs in the background, ndr). My strong point is risotto. I would like to be better: if I had more time I would take cooking lessons.”

Why start in Hong Kong?
«Because it is a small tournament, which I know, perfect to break up the journey to Australia and to break the ice. I haven’t played in a tournament since the last group match with Alcaraz at the Finals. It’s a lot.”

Do you consider the progress on the fast track that brought you to Turin to have been metabolised?
«I really hope so. I would like to start off strong already in China and Melbourne. I would like it to be the best start to the season of my career. But tennis offers few guarantees: every day you have to create it from scratch. A crazy off-season can turn out to be a house of cards. Consistency pays: in 2025 my lows have never been too low. It’s a good thing.”

How do you explain Musetti’s paradox, Lorenzo? With Alcaraz she is the talent with the most tennis in her arm, but to emerge she is forced to do additional work.
«At this level, you get nowhere with talent alone. I live with a dilemma inside me: if I were less talented but with another character, what would I have become? Then I think it’s better to have my talent and work hard to improve my character. I know that if I want to make the definitive leap in quality, I have to work on my attitude.”

To deserve the ATP Finals, he arrived in Turin lifeless.
«I struggled to qualify also due to the injuries that affected me, and which must not happen again. But they gave me the incentive to fight: I played for eight weeks straight, before Turin. A marathon. This is why it was so important, after the Finals, to stop and investigate and understand. Then there was Veronica who was about to give birth to Leandro, and I didn’t want to miss it.”

But were the Finals as you imagined them to be?
«For the emotions I experienced, the victory over De Minaur was the most exciting match of my life. In front of 15 thousand spectators and my family. Of course I would have liked to participate in the preparation too: the press conference, the group photos, the gala. I would have liked to train, do things right. Instead I landed from Athens, I tried the pitch for half an hour, I played. And I was boiled. I missed much of the beauty of the Finals, in 2026 it won’t have to happen again.”

This year he played (and lost) once with Sinner and four with Alcaraz. What would you say is the clearest difference between the number two and one in the world?
«Consistency and continuity, Jannik’s qualities. Sinner is cynical and ruthless, he is a perennial rock in terms of rhythm and intensity. Carlos has heavenly highs, but if he is nervous or tense, he becomes emotional. And it offers you some chances. Then you have to be good at grasping it.”

You too, like Alcaraz, grew up with the same coach from an early age: do you think Carlitos will have repercussions after the stormy divorce from Juan Carlos Ferrero?
«It was a bolt from the blue, I really didn’t expect it, especially at this point in the off-season. I believe that both lose in separation. I don’t know if Carlos will be affected by it: I remember that Jannik also had an in-between phase when he left Piatti; then it took off. Alcaraz isn’t starting from scratch: he continues with Samuel Lopez, who already knows him.”

Will you think about tournament goals or rankings in 2026?
«Neither one nor the other. I don’t like to set long-term goals, even months. In the meantime, I want to hit the ground running: usually, I struggle to get fuel. After Australia I will go to South America. Last year I hurt myself: it should be avoided. Until Monte Carlo, I have few points to defend. Then comes the good, or the bad. There is a string of results in the three Master 1000s on clay and at Roland Garros. But changing your attitude means thinking that I set out to win every tournament.”

Is this the life you dreamed of as a child in Carrara?
«Well, yes. I am a tennis professional, I have built a large family of my own since I was young. I have a team I can count on and a group of historic friends – among us we call ourselves the happy gang, we know each other from school – who don’t care if I win or lose: they are always there for me, even in dark moments. It’s not easy to cultivate friendships as a tennis player: I’m proud of it.”

Are there any contraindications? Do you hope that Ludovico or Leandro will follow your path?
«I would like to be a father who puts their future into the hands of his children. I hope they want to study: I ​​will gladly pay for university and travel, the best way to understand how the world works. I wouldn’t mind playing doubles in a tournament, with one of my sons: they will have to be precocious talents or I’ll be another Djokovic, and continue until they’re forty! I confirm that I will teach them the two-handed backhand: the aesthetics of the one-handed one are better, but what an effort…”.

I don’t know what to wish her. Maybe a future as a dancer on TV, like Fabio Fognini.
“Dance? I? Help… Better MasterChef or Beijing Express. I like adventure.”

December 30, 2025 (changed December 30, 2025 | 07:08)

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