Giovanni Santucci: from Tennis to Padel, waiting for the debut in Serie D

Padel is undoubtedly the sport of the moment. It is experiencing exponential growth and the number of members doubles from year to year. Our team is ready to start its season: Saturday, May 29 will make its debut in the D Series, against TC Pro Roma. For the occasion, we asked some questions to Giovanni Santucci, Marketing student, Team Manager and athlete of the team.

Giovanni, Padel is experiencing a moment of great popularity: in your opinion, what are the reasons for its explosion?

There are several reasons: first of all, it is easy to learn and it is very dynamic, so it allows you to experience immediate fun. In addition, during this period of pandemic, Padel has been considered a low-risk sport. The lack of contact and proximity has allowed for a boom in participants over the past 12 months. I’ve always played with people older than me, but today I’m excited to see kids and students on the court.

How did you approach this discipline?

I started playing back in 2009, when I was 12 years old. At that time Padel, more than a niche sport, was an unknown sport. At the club “Le Molette”, they installed what is now considered by many the first court in Rome (although the first, in fact, was that of the C.C. Aniene, which was only the first court in Rome). Aniene, which was only for members). I and other boys, who played tennis at the time, approached Padel and gradually left our old sport. Our teacher Stefano Pupillo also followed us. In those years we traveled a lot between Bologna and Milan to play official tournaments and we also had the opportunity to participate in world competitions, me as a Junior and him as a Senior.

How has your university career been reconciled with your competitive commitments until now?

At times it has been difficult to reconcile the two worlds. Over the years, both myself and other juniors have had to quit. However, I didn’t last long and started playing again during my freshman year of college. I was still a card-carrying member and resumed training and competition. With the beginning of my master’s degree, however, studying took over again, but thanks to the Luiss Sport Program, I had the opportunity to start playing again.

What would you like to do after your studies?

I would like to work in a big company in the marketing and communication sector, the one in which I am graduating. Given the growth of Padel, I can’t deny that the idea of sports entrepreneurship is very attractive to me, but right now I’m thinking about finishing my studies in the best possible way. In any case, I will try to include sports in my life as much as possible. Even if I don’t play it at a competitive level anymore, it will always be my best hobby.