Who is Francesco Passaro, a fairytale at the Australian Open: age, tournaments won, ATP ranking

Melbourne, 13 January 2025 – That of Francesco Passaro can already be considered the most beautiful fairy tale of the Australian Open 2025 first round. Entered the main draw thanks to the Fabio Fognini's forfeit, the tennis player from Perugia defeated the tournament's number 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian was forced to training camp due to a back problem at the beginning of the second set, with the score at 7-5, 2-1 for the Italian. Now Passaro can continue to dream: in the second round he will challenge the Frenchman Benjamin bonzi, with a possible third round against Jiri Lehecka, seeded number 24.

Francesco Passaro's celebration after passing the first round in Melbourne

First time in ATP top 100

"I'm happy for my first Slam main draw win, even if I feel sorry for Fabio and Grigor who I hope can recover soon", the words of the 24 year old, who thanks to the success is virtually number 89 in the world. "I'm taking a weight off my shoulders – he revealed –. For me it's always been a goal and maybe to pursue it I've put myself too much pressure on me. I was always close by but I could never get there, but today I am more aware than two years ago. Maybe when I was number 108 I wasn’t ready yet.”

Who is Francesco Passaro?

Francesco Passaro landed at the Australian Open as number 104 in the ATP ranking. In his career he has won three tournaments on the Challenger circuit and made his debut on the major circuit at Italian Internationals 2022. After his first ITF titles in 2021, the tennis player from Perugia surprisingly reached his first Challenger final in Sanremo in February 2022, starting from the qualifications, being defeated in three sets by Holger Rune. The great result opened the doors for him – thanks to a wild-card – to the main draw of the Italian Open. In Rome Passaro was beaten in the first round by Cristian Garin. The Italian tennis player continued to collect satisfactions in the Challenger circuit, with the finals reached in Forlì and Milan. Results that allowed him to enter the top 200 ATP. His rise continued with the triumph in Trieste and the first appearances in the tournaments of the major circuit, until the qualification for the Next Generation Atp Finals. After a 2023 with few victories, with the exit from the top 200, the recovery began in 2024. The boom at the Italian International: in the home tournament Passaro reached the third round thanks to three-set victories against Arthur Rinderknech and Tallon Griekspoor, before elimination against Nuno Borges. Then the victory at Turin Challenger, beating sonego e musetti, and GenoVa: successes that have brought him close to the top 100 ATP. Now the start with a bang at the Australian Open 2025. And Francesco Passaro really doesn't want to stop.