SAN MARINO/STARNBERG, July 8, 2025
The countdown is on for the Internazionali di Tennis San Marino Open, set to take place from July 14 to 20 on the courts of the Centro Tennis Cassa di Risparmio di Fonte dell’Ovo. This long-standing summer event is a must for tennis fans, and the 2025 edition of the ATP Challenger 125 with a prize pool of €181,250 promises a showcase of some of the brightest talents from both Italy and the international scene.
Among the Italian contenders, all eyes are on Federico Cinà, one of the country’s most exciting up-and-coming prospects. The 18-year-old from Palermo recently made a breakthrough by reaching the semifinals at the Modena Challenger, falling only to Stefano Travaglia. That run is expected to catapult him into the world’s top 250, improving his career-best ranking by over 30 spots. Currently sitting 9th in the Race to Jeddah—the ATP’s season-long ranking of the top young players vying for a spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals—Cinà has already made appearances at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami, Madrid, and Rome, winning first-round matches at all three, equaling the early career milestones of a certain Jannik Sinner. On the Challenger circuit, he’s reached finals in Tbilisi and Hersonissos (Crete), and made the quarterfinals in Bratislava.
Another player to watch is Dino Prizmic from Croatia. The 19-year-old from Split, who won the Roland Garros Junior title in 2023, currently sits 4th in the Race to Jeddah. He has already clinched Challenger titles this season in Zagreb and Bratislava, and reached the final in Milan, where he was narrowly defeated by Marco Cecchinato.
Also drawing attention is Justin Engel, a 17-year-old German talent coached by former World No. 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber. Engel made headlines last October in Almaty, becoming the first player born in 2007 to win a match on the ATP Tour. Remarkably, he is also the second-youngest player since 1990 to have recorded wins on all three major surfaces, behind only Rafael Nadal. In early June, Engel reached the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 grass-court event in Stuttgart and currently ranks 10th in the Race to Jeddah.
Just a few places behind Engel in the Next Gen standings is Arthur Gea of France, who recently reached the quarterfinals of the Milan Challenger.
From an Italian perspective, the main draw will also feature Matteo Gigante and Federico Arnaboldi, and is likely to include Francesco Maestrelli, who is just a couple of spots shy of direct entry. Maestrelli is coming off a title win at the Ion Tiriac Open in Brașov, Romania.
Local fans will also be keeping a close eye on homegrown talents, especially those from the Romagna region, who could make a splash in qualifying and aim to break into the spotlight. These include Alessandro Pecci, Enrico Dalla Valle, Federico Bondioli, Francesco Forti, Manuel Mazza and Alberto Bronzetti. Notably, Mazza recently captured the ITF World Tennis Tour M25 title in Cattolica.
