Adriano Panatta facts for kids
| Country (sports) |  Italy |
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| Residence | Treviso, Italy | ||||||||||
| Born | 9 July 1950 Rome, Italy |
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| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1969 (amateur from 1968) | ||||||||||
| Retired | 1983 | ||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | ||||||||||
| Prize money | $776,187 | ||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||
| Career record | 408–245 (62.5%) | ||||||||||
| Career titles | 10 | ||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (24 August 1976) | ||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R (1969) | ||||||||||
| French Open | W (1976) | ||||||||||
| Wimbledon | QF (1979) | ||||||||||
| US Open | 4R (1978) | ||||||||||
| Other tournaments | |||||||||||
| Tour Finals | RR (1975) | ||||||||||
| WCT Finals | QF (1977) | ||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||
| Career record | 233–152 (60.5%) | ||||||||||
| Career titles | 18 | ||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 15 (24 March 1980) | ||||||||||
| Team competitions | |||||||||||
| Davis Cup | W (1976) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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Adriano Panatta was born on July 9, 1950. He is a famous Italian former professional tennis player. He is best known for winning the French Open in 1976. This made him the first Italian man in the modern "Open Era" of tennis to win a major singles title, also known as a Grand Slam. Panatta also holds a special record: he was the only player to ever beat the legendary Björn Borg at the French Open, and he did it twice!
From 2018 to 2021, Adriano Panatta was a regular guest on a popular Italian sports TV show called Quelli che... il Calcio.
Contents
A Tennis Star's Journey
Adriano Panatta was born in Rome, Italy. His father worked as a caretaker at the Tennis Club Parioli. This meant Adriano grew up learning to play tennis on the club's clay courts. He became a very good young player in Europe before he started playing professionally.
Early Wins
In his early professional career, Panatta won several important tennis tournaments. He won in Bournemouth in 1973. He also won in Florence in 1974. In 1975, he added titles from Kitzbühel and Stockholm to his list of achievements.
The Amazing Year of 1976
The year 1976 was the most successful time in Adriano Panatta's career.
- He won the French Open by defeating Harold Solomon in the final match. It was a tough tournament, and he even saved a "match point" in his very first round. A match point is when an opponent is just one point away from winning the entire match.
- In the same year, he also won the Italian Open. This was another incredible win, as he saved 11 match points in his first match! He then went on to beat Guillermo Vilas in the final.
- To top off 1976, Panatta helped Italy win its first-ever Davis Cup title. The Davis Cup is a major international team competition in men's tennis. He won two singles matches and one doubles match in the final against Chile.
- Because of all these wins, he reached his highest-ever singles ranking: world No. 4. For a long time, he was the highest-ranked Italian tennis player. However, in February 2024, Jannik Sinner surpassed him by reaching No. 3, and later even became No. 1.
Beating Björn Borg
Adriano Panatta is famous for being the only player to ever defeat Björn Borg at the French Open. Borg was one of the greatest tennis players of all time, especially on clay courts. Panatta beat him twice at this tournament:
- In 1973, he won against Borg in the fourth round.
- In 1976, the year he won the tournament, he defeated Borg in the quarterfinals.
They also played each other in the semifinals of the 1975 French Open, but Borg won that match.
Later Career Highlights
In 1977, Panatta won the World Championship Tennis tournament in Houston, USA. He beat strong players like Jimmy Connors and Vitas Gerulaitis. He then won another title in Tokyo, Japan, in 1978.
Panatta was not as successful on faster tennis surfaces, like grass courts. His best performance at Wimbledon (which is played on grass) was in 1979. He reached the quarter-finals but lost a very close match to Pat DuPré. Years later, Panatta said that was the only match he regretted losing, feeling he played "a bit cocky" and lost focus.
After the big Davis Cup win in 1976, Panatta helped Italy reach the Davis Cup final three more times: in 1977, 1979, and 1980. However, they lost to Australia, the United States, and Czechoslovakia in those finals. Overall, Panatta had a great record in the Davis Cup, especially on clay courts.
His last singles title came in 1980 in Florence. He stopped playing professional tennis in 1983.
Life After Tennis
After retiring from playing, Adriano Panatta stayed involved in tennis. He served as the captain for Italy's Davis Cup team. He also became the tournament director for the Rome Masters, a big tennis event.
Panatta also explored other sports. He competed in offshore powerboat racing, which involves very fast boats on water. In 1990, he had a very successful season and almost became a world champion.
From 1992 to 2002, Panatta also competed as a rally driver. This is a type of car racing on different terrains. In 1992, he took part in a World Rally Championship event, the Sanremo Rally, driving a Peugeot 309 GTI. He had to stop the race after an accident.
Personal Life
Adriano Panatta's younger brother, Claudio Panatta, was also a tennis player.
Images for kids
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Adriano Panatta in the 1980s
See also
In Spanish: Adriano Panatta para niños
