Rising star Darderi faces the ultimate challenge at Flushing Meadows

For Italian men's tennis, this is undoubtedly a true "golden era" — currently, five players are ranked within the TOP 50, with two inside the TOP 10. Born in 2002, Darderi is one of the many rising stars to emerge from Italy's tennis scene recently. In 2024, during his debut season on the ATP Tour, he claimed his first title at the Córdoba event, quickly climbing into the TOP 40 in the world rankings. His impressive performance has attracted widespread attention.

Darderi was born in Gesell, Argentina, a small town about 150 kilometers from the capital Buenos Aires. He started playing tennis at age four under his father's guidance. To improve his training, he traveled to various cities and countries, but his father has always been, and still is, his coach. From age 12, he began representing Italy, the homeland of his grandfather. Forged on Argentina’s clay courts and fighting for Italy’s honor, this unique cultural blend has shaped his fierce playing style and strong mental resilience.

Given his background, clay courts are naturally Darderi’s strongest surface. Besides his first tour title on clay, the Italian also claimed three more clay-court championships this year. He won again in Marrakech in April, then secured back-to-back titles in Bastad and Umag in July, proving his undeniable prowess on clay.

However, unlike traditional clay-court specialists, Darderi also shows great potential on hard and grass courts. This year, he reached the men’s singles round of 32 consecutively at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, demonstrating remarkable consistency. In this prestigious hard-court event starting this week, seeded 32nd, he defeated strong opponents: Australia’s Rinky Hijikata and local wildcard Spizzirri, achieving his best result at Flushing Meadows and aiming to break his personal highest ranking.

As a baseline attacker, Darderi relies on his powerful forehand and aggressive play to establish himself on the men’s tour. His South American upbringing also contributed solid baseline skills and fierce determination. The Italian uses the YONEX PERCEPT 97D racket, designed for ultimate control and precise feedback, which provides “guided precision” to channel his power into an effective and controlled scoring weapon on court.

Looking ahead to the next round, Darderi is set to face the No. 2 seed and Spanish prodigy Alcaraz at Flushing Meadows — arguably the ultimate test in men’s tennis today. Notably, they share a warm backstory: after Darderi won his first ATP title in Córdoba last year, he received a congratulatory message from Alcaraz on social media: “Amazing job, congratulations! You’re doing great, keep it up.” One year later, they will meet for the first time on tennis’s grandest stage. As a rising star, can Darderi seize the chance to challenge a superstar? Let’s wait and see. Regardless of the outcome, this will be a perfect opportunity for the Italian to learn and showcase his talent.

(Written and edited by Wang Fei; photos by Visual China)