Behind Passaro's feat, Jacobs' mental coach reveals: "The mind trains like the body"

In the second round of the 2025 International Tennis Championships , Italian Francesco Passaro , a wild card in the tournament, accomplished a feat by beating world number 15 Grigor Dimitrov in two sets . The Italian thus advances to the third round, where he will face the winner of the match between Russian Karen Khachanov and Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga.

A happy moment for the young Italian. The same age as Jannik Sinner, he made his debut on the major circuit at the Rome International in 2022. 2025 began with him reaching the second round of the Australian Open due to Grigor Dimitrov's withdrawal, and then saw him reach his best ATP ranking, flying to 89th place, while he is now at 101st.

BNL Internationals of Italy 2025 -Francesco Passaro (getty)

Behind the climb of this boy , born in Perugia on January 7, 2001, in addition to the team that follows him, there is also a presence that, for some time, has been alongside him in training: not that of the body, but of the mind. The same person who led the sprinter Marcell Jacobs to Olympic gold in the 100 meters at the Tokyo 2020 Games: Nicoletta Romanazzi .

Mental Coach specialized in sports coaching, trainer and breathing facilitator, Romanazzi is now known as the one who makes champions 'fly'. We asked her what kind of mental training is necessary in a sport like tennis , where a match can last 4-5 hours and only with the head can you fight physical tiredness.

" In tennis - Romanazzi immediately confirms - the mental part is much more important than the technical one . If you can't manage the pressure, the error or the length of the match, you end up losing. The great champions are those who are able to accept the 'down' phase, who know how to welcome the moment of suffering, to then climb back up and maybe manage to bring home the match.

“The mind must be trained like the body”

Q. Does physical energy always go hand in hand with mental energy?A. The more tired you are, the more difficult it is to manage concentration. The mind must be trained like the body, as I explain to athletes. The body requires energy conservation and it is our head that must administer the forces at the right time.

Grigor Dimitrov/Francesco Passaro (getty)

“Everyone has different selves that must alternate”

Q. In one of your books, you explain that each person is made up of different selves that must alternate, make space for themselves, depending on the situation they face. In tennis, which parts of your personality must prevail during the competition? A. The theme I am pursuing is that of knowing yourself better and making the most of your characteristics . Sometimes, even our positive traits, if used badly, can become toxic and act against us, damaging us. For example, the kind part, when it is too strong, prevents us from knowing how to say no, from setting limits on the requests of others and this is not good, it wastes precious energy. If you play a professional sport, you have to have a competitive side : you have to have grit, but balance it with calm, energy but not too many nerves. It's all a matter of balance.

“ Sinner’s strength? Always remaining himself”

Q. We are already seeing the results of Francesco Passaro in these first matches of the Internationals. The tournament in Rome, however, marks the return to the field of number one Sinner. You said that his strength is 'always knowing how to remain himself'. What do you mean exactly and, in your opinion, will he be able this time too, with the emotion of his return, to leave behind everything he has been through in recent months?

R. Sinner is followed by a mental coach and I am confident that he will be able to handle the situation this time too. Starting from the fact that every person is different and everyone has to manage their own emotions, remaining yourself means not changing, not letting yourself be dragged by external requests. For example, by success. Many athletes, once they reach the top, let themselves be overwhelmed by external expectations and by so many requests. This can lead to losing themselves and their goal, because the pressure to do billions of things is too much. Sinner's greatness is always keeping the rudder straight : not going to the Sanremo Festival or to the meeting of the Italian national team with President Mattarella, after becoming number 1 in the world, also brought him strong criticism, but there is nothing you can do that does not attract criticism from others. People first put you on a pedestal , but then they want to throw you off that pedestal .

" We must defend ourselves from external pressure"

I always explain this to the kids, to help them not suffer attacks from the outside world. It's a huge topic. Many athletes quit at the peak of success because they can't handle the external pressure . It's clear that the goal is to be able to do it alone, but external support is always a great help and we should all understand that. Often, however, it's as if we constantly wanted to test young athletes. As soon as they make a mistake, they are attacked . This happens because we are not able to handle failure and we don't tolerate it from others either."

Internazionali BNL d'Italia: The Sinner team before the debut - May 07, 2025 (Fabiana Confini, Rainews.it)

07/05/2025