{"id":535032,"date":"2026-03-12T07:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/535032\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T07:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:14:12","slug":"cina-challenger-2026-feature-next-gen-atp-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/535032\/","title":{"rendered":"Cina Challenger 2026 Feature | Next Gen ATP Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n The 18-year-old Italian recently won his first ATP Challenger title \n <\/p>\n

While many young tennis players dream of getting an up-close look at the stars they watch on television, Federico Cina grew up living that reality.<\/p>\n

\nThe fast-rising #NextGenATP player spent roughly 10 weeks a year travelling to the sport\u2019s biggest tournaments thanks to his father\u2019s role as coach of Roberta Vinci, the Italian former WTA star who reached the Top 10 in singles and became World No. 1 in doubles. Cina recalls visiting the Slams and the ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Rome.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI was really young and I saw all the champions near to me,\u201d Cina told ATPTour.com. \u201cSo I understood how good it is to be there and play on those courts. I fell in love from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThat young boy who used to accompany his father in the player\u2019s box is now carving his own path, with ambitions to rise onto the ATP Tour. In a full-circle journey, Cina is coached by his father, Francesco.<\/p>\n

\nCina holds fond memories from those early days travelling to tournaments.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI remember one time I saw Federer at Wimbledon, I was like, \u2018Wow\u2019,\u201d recalled Cina. \u201cHe\u2019s also an idol for me,\u201d he added, previously naming Novak Djokovic as his tennis idol.<\/p>\n

\"Federico
Federico Cina in the arms of his father, Francesco (far left), at Wimbledon in 2014, following Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci’s title run. Credit: Jan Kruger\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\nThe 18-year-old recently won his maiden ATP Challenger title in Pune, India, where he dramatically saved five championship points<\/a>. \u201cI hope this is only the first one,\u201d he said following his triumph.<\/p>\n

\nA native of Palermo, the capital city of Sicily, Cina is at a career-high No. 183 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He is the second-youngest player in the Top 200 (only behind Justin Engel).<\/p>\n

\nWhile making the transition to professional tennis, some players may need time to adjust to the globe-trotting nature of the job. Cina has understood that aspect since a young age.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhen I started travelling, maybe for my age it was not normal, but I travelled when I was five years old so I never had any problems with travelling,\u201d Cina said. \u201cI always liked it. I think travelling with my dad helped me with these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cina
Cina celebrates his Pune title with his team, from left to right: Francesco Cina, Francesco Cardinale and Eric Hernandez. Credit: PMR Maha Open<\/p>\n

\nCina has \u201calways played tennis\u201d, sharing that he first started aged one, with a racquet at home. At age 14, he became more serious about chasing the professional dream. Cina trained twice a day for 90 minutes per session, completed physical conditioning in the afternoons, and still managed three hours of school each day.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI think at that age was when I really understood that I want to do this and focus on tennis 100 per cent,\u201d Cina said.<\/p>\n

\nCina’s hard work is paying dividends. Last year, he received a wild card at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami and Madrid, earning a main-draw win at both events.<\/p>\n

\nIn Pune, Cina became the fifth-youngest Italian to win his first ATP Challenger title, a list led by Jannik Sinner, the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.<\/p>\n

Youngest Italians To Win First Challenger Title<\/p>\n

Player
\n Age
\n Title<\/p>\n

Jannik Sinner
\n 17 years, six months
\n 2019 Bergamo<\/p>\n

Stefano Pescosolido
\n 17 years, 10 months
\n 1989 Parioli<\/p>\n

Luca Nardi
\n 18 years, five months
\n 2022 Forli<\/p>\n

Lorenzo Musetti
\n 18 years, six months
\n 2020 Forli<\/p>\n

Federico Cina
\n 18 years, 11 months
\n 2026 Pune<\/p>\n

\nTurning 19 later this month (30 March), Cina will be one to watch throughout this season while he chases his goal of qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI really want to qualify,\u201d Cina said. \u201cOf course we are in March, so it\u2019s a very long way away, but it is a goal to finish the year in the top eight [20-and-under players] so I can go to the Next Gen Finals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 18-year-old Italian recently won his first ATP Challenger title While many young tennis players dream of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-535032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}