Title in Santiago, finals in Buenos Aires and Bastad, a semi-final in Rome, quarter-finals in Canada, the last 16 in New York and his first Davis Cup call-up for Italy. There can no longer be any doubt: Luciano Darderi belongs among tennis’s elite.
“It’s the first year I feel I can play the top 10 or 15 on equal terms,” said the player, who will draw plenty of attention at the Davis Cup Finals after the stir caused by Matteo Berrettini’s omission, in an interview with CLAY.
Although he began to make a name for himself on tour in 2025 thanks to his titles in Marrakech, Bastad and Umag, the past 12 months have cemented his place among the game’s most select group of players: he has not dropped out of the top 25 all year, he claimed his first win over a top-5 player by beating Alexander Zverev in Rome, and he has become Italy’s third-highest-ranked player.
For Darderi, the key to his success simply comes down to blending in. “Adapting to the tour and playing ATP events every week was key. Being able to practise every day with Sinner, Alcaraz, Rublev or Zverev, players of a very high level, is what helps you take the next step. In Challengers you can have very good practice sessions with good players, but ATP events take you to another speed, another level and another mentality,” he told CLAY during the Almaty Open.
What are the differences between the two main tours in men’s tennis? The Italian knows the answer: “On this tour (the ATP), everything is more closed off. Everyone is with their team, working on their game, so I think that’s the most fundamental thing. That’s what I call mindset and maturity. Everyone is in their own world, focused on their own world and improving a lot,” he added.
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As well as the competitive factor, Darderi acknowledges an improvement on the mental side. “Sometimes, in your first or second year, you ask yourself whether you really belong at this level or not. You always have those doubts. As time goes on and you improve, you start to feel more confident in yourself. The mental side is different,” he said.
That is why, at the end of this year, all roads led to Bologna. With Jannik Sinner out injured, Darderi was considered for the first time to represent his country in the Davis Cup. Captain Filippo Volandri named him alongside Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Musetti and doubles specialists Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
The big absentee was Matteo Berrettini, an Italian stalwart and a key figure in the 2025 title triumph. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist made headlines this week over a possible rift with Musetti, who has just won the ATP 250 in Lyon.
“It’s been a great year for me, with very good results, but it’s not my decision. There are a lot of players in Italy. This year I’ve arrived at this moment in very good shape, with good results, so I feel that, on my side, I’m coming in at a high level,” Darderi had told CLAY just days before his call-up was announced. In November, his big moment will arrive.
