Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori: First Italian Doubles Winners

Italian tennis is riding an extraordinary wave of success, which extended to during the ABN AMRO Open’s 52nd edition. On Sunday, Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori became the first Italian doubles winners in the tournament’s history. To claim the trophy, they defeated the pair formed by Sander Gillé and Jan Zielinski in an exciting final: 6-2, 4-6, 10-6.

It's undeniable that Italy is currently a very strong tennis nation. The men managed to retain their Davis Cup title, and the women also captured the Billie Jean Cup in 2024. In addition, no fewer than seven players in singles are in the top 50 of the ATP Tour. In doubles, two Italians are consistently in the top rankings. Now Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori made their mark in Rotterdam Ahoy with a tournament title.

"This was a tough final of high quality,” Bolelli said during the award ceremony. "We have been playing together for a few years, but things have been going really well lately. It was also great to see so many Italian supporters in the stands. We will definitely come back next year to defend our title.”

Polish player Jan Zielinski was a fair play loser: "There’s no shame in losing a match like this. We have had a good start to the season and hope to continue this upward trend as a new team.” For Belgian Sander Gillé, Rotterdam almost felt like a home game: "I live just an hour and a half away from here. So next year, I want to come home with the title.”