The facility in Tirrenia has more hard courts (seven) than clay courts (four), and the federation even sets up a grass court for its players to prepare for Wimbledon.

Nicola Pietrangeli, the 1959 and 1960 French Open champion and the only Italian man other than Panatta to win a major singles title, recalled how practice was confined almost exclusively to clay in his day.

"Back then, I would arrive in London and have one day to practice on grass," Pietrangeli said. "It was tough."

Italy is now a regular host for top-level tournaments. The Next Gen ATP Finals (in Milan), the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup finals (both in Turin) will be held on consecutive weeks in November. There also was the Sardegna Open, and other events are coming to Parma after the Italian Open.

"It allows a lot of players to compete without having to travel all over the world, which helps them financially," Volandri said.

With Sinner, at least, the ultimate goal of producing a player capable of winning Grand Slam titles is starting to seem realistic.

Take it from top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who had this to say after beating Sinner at the Monte Carlo Masters last month: "He's an all-around player. He hits the ball in the sweet spot more or less on any surface. He's the future of our sport. Actually, he's already the present of our sport."

Agencies Via Xinhua