{"id":89196,"date":"2025-08-23T00:26:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T04:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=89196"},"modified":"2025-08-23T00:26:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T04:26:45","slug":"fognini-dancing-with-the-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/08\/23\/fognini-dancing-with-the-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Fabio Fognini to Compete on Dancing With the Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Less than two months after <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/07\/09\/fabio-fognini-announces-early-retirement\/\" target=\"_self\">announcing his retirement from tennis<\/a>, Fabio Fognini is ready to start a new chapter in his life. In a video posted on social media, the former World No. 9 revealed that he will be a contestant on the Italian version of Dancing With the Stars, which is scheduled to begin on September 27.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHi everybody, you still see me dressed as a tennis player because, as you know, tennis is my life. But this year I\u2019ve decided to step onto the dance floor: I will take part in Dancing With the Stars. I promise to put in a lot of passion and joy, and I hope to learn a few steps. See you soon, guys,\u201d he said (translation by me) in the video, filmed on a tennis court.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"it\">Dal campo alla pista, la sfida continua: Fabio Fognini entra in gioco a <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BallandoConLeStelle?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BallandoConLeStelle<\/a> 2025. \ud83c\udfbe\ud83d\udc83 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/milly_carlucci?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@milly_carlucci<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q20rHjrARA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/q20rHjrARA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BallandoConLeStelle (@Ballando_Rai) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ballando_Rai\/status\/1958827589742526545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>A Wimbledon Farewell<\/h2>\n<p>Fognini said goodbye to tennis and his fans at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wimbledon.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wimbledon<\/a>, after a memorable first-round match against two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian pushed him to a fifth set and battled for over four hours, producing one of the most entertaining matches of the entire tournament.<\/p>\n<p>With his wife, Flavia Pennetta, the 2015 US Open champion, and their children in the stands \u2013 they had flown to the UK as soon as they learned their father would face Alcaraz \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/07\/01\/fabio-fognini-carlos-alcaraz-threat-top-players\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">he enjoyed one last dance<\/a>. He couldn\u2019t have chosen a better stage.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"oJhemlPATX5bdQ7Yd_ELsQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2222942175\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'oJhemlPATX5bdQ7Yd_ELsQ',sig:'x33jlb3crMTa-PFbH-QUOiHm_1agV9G32tnSVtmDMo4=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2222942175',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>A Difficult Decision<\/h3>\n<p>After reflecting for a few days, Fognini held a press conference later in the tournament where he shared with journalists his decision to say farewell to tennis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the perfect way to say goodbye to this sport. My dream was to finish next year at the Monte Carlo Masters, but I don\u2019t want to go back to the Challengers,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/L_Ac1yc1URY?si=sF5INpoF5YJosaaQ\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he admitted candidly<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he didn\u2019t achieve everything he could have, but his career is certainly one to remember. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 9 and won nine ATP titles. His most prestigious was the <a href=\"https:\/\/montecarlotennismasters.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Monte Carlo Masters<\/a> in 2019. Although he defeated Dusan Lajovic in the final, the match no one can forget is the semifinal against Rafa Nadal, when the Italian completely outplayed the King of Clay.<\/p>\n<h3>Not His First Dance<\/h3>\n<p>And now, Dancing With the Stars. To be fair, this won\u2019t be Fognini\u2019s first appearance on the show. Last year, he was a guest for one night, and his performance went viral, even shocking fellow tennis players.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"it\">Da campione di tennis a stella della danza, Fabio Fognini ha mostrato grinta, precisione e un carisma unico a <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BallandoConLeStelle?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BallandoConLeStelle<\/a>! \ud83c\udf1f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2IieyNwwGk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/2IieyNwwGk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BallandoConLeStelle (@Ballando_Rai) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ballando_Rai\/status\/1868071821037466087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Alexander Zverev, for example, wrote on Instagram: \u201cThis is the single greatest thing I\u2019ve seen this year.\u201d Fognini danced a boogie and showed impressive talent, earning the applause of both the audience and the judges.<\/p>\n<p>Given his competitiveness, he certainly won\u2019t take part just for fun: Fognini will be aiming to win the whole competition.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DDmWJZDRHHB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Visualizza questo post su Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DDmWJZDRHHB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Un post condiviso da Eurosport Italia (@eurosportitalia)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Main Photo Credit: Taya Gray\/The Desert Sun\/USA TODAY NETWORK<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Less than two months after announcing his retirement from tennis, Fabio Fognini is ready to start a new chapter in his life. In a video posted on social media, the former World No. 9 revealed that he will be a contestant on the Italian version of Dancing With the Stars, which is scheduled to begin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5454,"featured_media":59745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,5729,43256,2070,354,284,710],"class_list":["post-89196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-alexander-zverev","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-dancing-with-the-stars","tag-dusan-lajovic","tag-fabio-fognini","tag-flavia-pennetta","tag-rafa-nadal"],"modified_by":"Shane Black","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89196"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89212,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89196\/revisions\/89212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}