Milan and its tennis heritage From 1883 to a possibile ATP tournament in 2028
Tennis could be returning to Milan. Starting from 2028, the city could host an ATP 250 tournament after the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) reportedly acquired the rights to the Brussels event for €24 million, plus a 10% commission to be paid to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The news was reported by Corriere della Sera on March 7. The distinctive element of the tournament is that it would be played on grass, although at the moment there isn’t even a hypothetical venue yet. It should be scheduled after the Roland Garros, likely during the second week of June, effectively opening the grass-court season that traditionally reaches its peak at Wimbledon. None of these reports have been denied so far, making it very likely that what will happen from 2028 onward will mark a new chapter in the long-standing love story between tennis and Milan.
What tennis courts are there in Milan?
If we think today about Italian cities closely associated with tennis, Rome immediately comes to mind as the home of the Italian's Open, or Turin, where the ATP Finals take place, or even Bologna, host city of the Davis Cup. Milan remains somewhat outside this conversation, and it’s paradoxical that one of the most globally recognized Italian cities—known for its cosmopolitan identity—hasn’t fully capitalized on the rapid expansion of tennis in Italy, driven by players such as Jannik Sinner, Jasmine Paolini, Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, Mattia Bellucci, and Matteo Berrettini, just to name a few from a constantly growing generation of Italian tennis stars.
Tennis Club Milano
The tournament expected to start in 2028 would reignite a relationship that dates back to 1883. According to Gianni Clerici—the legendary voice of Italian tennis alongside Rino Tommasi from the early 1980s until 2011—the origins of tennis in Milan trace back to that year. In a historical reconstruction written for La Repubblica, Clerici described a facility with five clay courts on Via Mario Pagano, commissioned by Count Felice Scheibler. In 1893, the Tennis Club Milano was founded by Alberto Bonacossa, who would later lend his name to the club. In 1923 the club inaugurated its current headquarters on Via Generale Arimondi 15. This venue hosted the earliest editions of the Italian Championships from 1930 until 1935, before the tournament moved to Rome following the completion of the Foro Italico.
Tennis Club Ambrosiano
In 1926 the Tennis MonteRosa opened on Via Ronchi, the precursor to the current Tennis Club Ambrosiano located on Via Feltre. Finally, in 1946 another club opened that would leave a lasting mark on the evolution of tennis in Milan: the Tennis Club Lombardo.
Roger Federer and the 2001 Milan Indoor
Up until now we have used the word “return” when discussing the possibility of a new ATP tournament in Milan because the city has already hosted ATP events in the past. The most notable was the Milan Indoor, played from 1978 to 1997 and again from 2001 to 2005. If the name sounds familiar, there’s a simple reason why: in recent years it has been mentioned countless times because this is where Roger Federer, at just 19 years old, won the first ATP title of his professional career in 2001. The tournament was played at the PalaLido, which became its final venue after earlier editions had been staged at the Palazzo dello Sport, Palazzo Trussardi and the Forum di Assago. The surface was always synthetic, and the tournament’s roll of honor features names that shaped tennis history: from Björn Borg and John McEnroe to Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker, as well as Monica Seles, who won the only women’s edition of the event in 1991.
What tournaments are played in Milan?
Credits: Francesco Panunzio - Internazionali d’Italia Juniores
If that’s the past, the present tells the story of a surprisingly vibrant tennis scene. Since 2006, the Aspria Harbour Club Milano has hosted the Milano ATP Challenger. Meanwhile, the Tennis Club Milano Alberto Bonacossa stages the Internazionali d’Italia Juniores, a key milestone in the development of young players. Both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz competed here early in their careers, as did Novak Djokovic and Flavia Pennetta.
Torneo Avvenire - Tennis Club Ambrosiano
Another prestigious youth event is the Torneo Avvenire, held at the Tennis Club Ambrosiano, which since 2025 has been dedicated to the Under-14 category after decades as one of the most important Under-16 tournaments in the world since its inauguration in 1965.
Next Gen and ATP Finals in Milan
More recently, tennis returned to the spotlight in Milan thanks to the Next Generation ATP Finals, the ATP’s equivalent of the season-ending Finals but reserved for the best young players on the tour. The event was held in Milan from its launch in 2017 until 2022, alternating between Fieramilano and the PalaLido. It is now staged in Saudi Arabia.
Starting in 2027, Milan could even become the host city of the ATP Finals, taking advantage of the new Arena Santa Giulia built for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games to host the ice hockey tournament. The possibility was widely discussed in 2024, and Milan’s mayor Beppe Sala also confirmed that the scenario was under consideration. For now, however, no official developments have emerged, which is why Turin remains the ATP’s chosen host city.
The Davis Cup in Milan
Another key figure in Milan’s tennis history is Adriano Panatta. It was here in 1968 that he faced Nicola Pietrangeli, often considered the greatest Italian tennis player of all time, for the first time in an official match during the Italian National Championships. The tournament was held in Milan for 13 editions between 1939, the year of its first edition, and 1968, before returning for four consecutive years from 1996 to 1999. Panatta also won the Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan in 1971.
His historic doubles partner Paolo Bertolucci later served as Italy’s non-playing captain in 1998 when the Azzurri faced Sweden in the Davis Cup final in Milan. The event, held at what was then known as the Mediolanum Forum, marked the competition’s return to the city. Until then, the only Davis Cup matches played in Milan dated back to the period between 1929 and 1965, when around ten ties were held at the Tennis Club Milano Alberto Bonacossa.
The future of tennis in Milan
The next chapter in Milan’s relationship with tennis could therefore be the new ATP 250 tournament scheduled for 2028. As mentioned earlier, it is expected to be played on grass immediately after Roland Garros, making it the first ATP grass-court tournament ever held in Italy. Given the relatively small number of ranking points on offer and its position in the calendar, the event may struggle to attract the biggest names from the outset. More realistically, at least in its early years, the tournament will aim to establish itself as a solid alternative to the Rosmalen Open in the Netherlands and the Stuttgart Open in Germany—two ATP 250 grass tournaments that, together with the Halle Open (ATP 500) and Queen’s (ATP 500), form the traditional build-up to Wimbledon.
