In the world of professional tennis players, Fabio Fognini is well known as one of the best exports out of Italy. He is one of only 2 players of Italian origin to have ever finished in the top 20 for 2 seasons in a row; No 16 in 2013 and No. 20 in 2014. Alongside fellow compatriot Simone Bolelli, Fognini won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event which made them the first all-Italian duo to win a major tournament in the Open era. Just like the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Fognini’s most successful surface is red clay, upon which he has achieved 4 ATP singles titles, made the quarterfinals of the 2011 French Open and the semis of the 2013 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Fabio Fognini Biography
Fabio Fognini was born on May 24, 1987, to Silvana and Fulvio Fognini in Sanremo, Italy. He was raised alongside one sibling, a younger sister named Fulvia. He started playing tennis at the tender age of four. A multilingual, Fabio Fognini is able to speak Italian, English, Spanish, and French.
Fabio Fognini’s junior career boasts of a 72–36 win-loss record. In the early stage of his professional career, he played in several Futures as well as Challenger tournaments. In 2006, Fognini was fairly successful at the Challengers which qualified him for his first ATP World Tour in Buenos Aires. However, he could not make it past the group stage. The following year, Fognini fared much better on the ATP Tour as he qualified for his first Grand Slam tournament, the 2007 French Open. However, he was also defeated in the first round.
The Italian also made some real progress at the 2007 Rogers Masters before he was defeated in the 3rd round by formidable tennis player Roger Federer. He was able to break into the top 100 rankings as he finished the year 2007 on the No. 94 spot. In 2008, after crashing out in the first round of the Australian Open, Fabiano Fognini was able to progress to the quarterfinals of the Movistar Open and the semis of Brasil Open. He also made the semifinals of both the Orange Warsaw Open and Croatia Open Umag. In 2009, Fognini reached the third round of the 2009 Monte-Carlo Masters before losing out to Andy Murray.
2011 can be considered a breakthrough year for Fognini as he reached several heights in his career. He made it to the quarterfinals of the 2011 French Open, his first time reaching that stage in a Grand Slam event. He also became the first Italian man since 1995 to reach the French Open quarterfinals. However, due to injuries and based on the advice of his physician, Fabio Fognini reluctantly pulled out of his quarterfinal fixture against Novak Djokovic. Reaching that point was also sufficient to shoot him all the way to No. 32 on the singles ranking. He also made the semis of the 2011 US Open men’s doubles alongside fellow Italian Simone Bolelli.
In April 2012, Fognini made his first career final at the 2012 BRD Năstase Țiriac Tournament in Bucharest eventually losing out to Gilles Simon. He also made it to the third round of the US Open before getting ousted by fans’ favorite Andy Roddick. In 2013, Fognini reached the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, his first time of reaching that stage in a Masters event. He progressed further to the semifinals before eventually losing out to serial rival Novac Djokovic.
After 2 unsuccessful career finals, Fognini eventually clinched his first career title at the 2013 MercedesCup. He maintained his top form by clinching the singles title at the 2013 International German Open which helped him break into the ATP top 20 for the first time. The following year, the talented Italian won his third ATP title at the 2014 Chile Open which pushed him further to No. 14 on the rankings chart. In 2016, he clinched his fourth career title at the 2016 Croatia Open. He was also able to get to the third round of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics after ousting the then-defending champion, Andy Murray.
Fabio Fognini had a disappointing run at the 2017 US Open, losing out in the first round. Even though he left early, he earned himself huge sanctions for a number of offenses committed during the match including making obscene remarks towards a female umpire. In October 2017, following an appeal, the Grand Slam board lifted Fognini’s 2-tournament ban and also halved his initial fine, however, he was placed on probation till 2019. In March 2018, Fabio Fognini clinched his first title at the Brasil Open which pushed him up to No. 19 on the ATP ranking.
Is Fabio Fognini Married? Wife
Just as he makes his living on the court, tennis champion Fabio Fognini equally found love on the tennis court. In 2014, Fognini began dating fellow Italian professional tennis player and former US Open champion Flavia Pennetta. The couple got engaged in 2015 and the following year, they tied the knot on June 11, 2016. On May 19, 2017, the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Federico.
As far as professional tennis in Italy is concerned, Fognini and his wife Flavia Pennetta are definitely regarded as royalty. Just like her husband, Pennetta had a highly successful stint as a professional tennis player. She won a total of 28 WTA titles during her highly illustrious career which ended in 2015. However, before retiring from the sport, Pennetta topped it off with a Grand Slam title by clinching the 2015 US Open.
Girlfriend
Seeing that he is already married, it’d be safe to assume that star tennis player Fabio Fognini does not have a girlfriend at the moment. His current wife Flavia Pennetta was his girlfriend at a time, however, they have since passed the dating stage as they have made it official by tying the knot.
However, prior to his current relationship, Fabio Fognini was known to have dated Bulgarian-born model Svetlana Simeonova. Simeonova holds dual citizenship as she is also a naturalized Italian. She is an established actress and TV personality in Italy with a number of films and TV shows. Her relationship with the tennis star lasted as long as 4 years.
Height And Other Body Measurements
The Italian-born Tennis star stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm). As expected of an active professional athlete, Fabio Fognini has a fit physique with an average weight of (79 kg) 174 lbs. Despite having a rather small frame, Fognini’s baseline play and big groundstrokes are some of his strong points. He also stands out for his agility, movement as well as his swiftness.
