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Italian Open celebrates Pennetta's career

The Stadio Pietrangeli was filled with tears as the former U.S. O

ByNina Pantic

Published May 10, 2016

The International BNL d’Italia celebrated the former U.S. Open champion on Tuesday. (AP Photo)

A fleet of players united on Stadio Pietrangeli for a celebration of Flavia Pennetta’s career:

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Here's a clip of the tribute video with subtitles:

WTA President Steve Simon presented the 34-year-old with a framed photo, and Novak Djokovic spoke fluent Italian in her tribute video, which included appearances by the likes of Elena Dementieva, Martina Hingis, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and Pennetta’s fiancé, Fabio Fognini.

Pennetta was the first Italian to be ranked inside the Top 10 (reaching a career-high ranking of No. 6) and the first-ever Italian to reach No. 1 in doubles. She won 10 WTA singles titles and 17 WTA doubles titles during her 15-year career. Her U.S. Open final win over Roberta Vinci last year was the first-ever all-Italian Grand Slam final.

Francesca Schiavone, a fellow Italian and one-time Grand Slam champion herself, spoke about Pennetta during the ceremony (in Italian). Earlier this year in Miami, the 2011 Roland Garros winner shared her joy for her compatriot’s U.S. Open win.

“That was big…” Schiavone said. “It was great for me to remember that [Italians] can win a Grand Slam, and at the same time for Flavia. We’ve know each other for so long. When I saw her in Rio not many weeks ago ... I saw that she was very happy, so that’s the best part of life.”

Pennetta played her final match at the WTA Finals in Singapore after announcing her retirement during her trophy acceptance speech in New York City:

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Pennetta said one of her goals was winning Rome, but she never went farther than the quarterfinals. This week, Vinci is the only Italian left in the women's draw.

On Tuesday, Rome's Stadio Pietrangeli was filled with the tears of both Pennetta and her friends on tour. It’s easy to see that she was extremely well-liked on tour, and she will be dearly missed.