Italian Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi issued a stark apology to Jannik Sinner after no Italian delegation was present to watch the tennis star’s Wimbledon victory. 

Abodi told Gazzetta dello Sport: “How did I experience Sinner’s Wimbledon victory? With great emotion, from a distance, because, unlike so many other times, this time I didn’t go. Even a minister sometimes has to stop, needs to stop, to spend a day with his family.

“It’s disappointing that the Italian institutions are absent. I think the most important thing is to be able to celebrate an achievement that brings everyone together. It can happen that the institutions are absent, and that’s what happened here.

“We’re sorry about that because it would have been much nicer to be there, but sometimes we too have life circumstances that prevent us from doing so, and I don’t think this deserves a judgment that, all things considered, distracts from the great joy that should unite us all. The most important thing is to celebrate Jannik’s victory.”