Pitch Perfect: Sonego's Music Stardom

As preparations for Wimbledon step up, Lorenzo Sonego is aiming to hit the right notes on and off court.

The Italian begins his SW19 campaign against 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday, but is also chasing success away from London’s lawns after releasing his third song, “Cielo Aperto”, last Friday. Sonego’s latest hit is the third he has produced alongside friend ‘AlterEdo’, with their first song, “Un Solo Secondo”, soaring past one million listens on Spotify earlier this year.

“We started the music as a joke almost and we had fun. We wrote the song and put good words together and it took off,” Sonego told ATPTour.com. “I work on my music with my best friend and it is really good. When we were young, we sang together some songs and we tried to write some words. Then we decided to make a real song together.

“We finally finished the first song and we tried to put it on Spotify and it was fun to see my name. It was good and after a while we had one million listens and that was crazy.”

Sonego started producing music in 2021 with his friend writing and the 28-year-old ATP Tour star providing the vocals. Their second song "SWING” also gained listens on Spotify.

While it is a team effort, Sonego was quick to shy away from any praise, complimenting his friend instead.

“I think my friend is really creative,” Sonego said. “I just put in the voice and some of the words, but the really hard work is done by my friend. It is good for switching off from the tennis. To have something different and to spend time with my friend.”

Sonego’s music has been popular on Tour, with players praising the Italian in the locker room. The World No. 42’s music was also played on court at an ATP 250 event in Adelaide at the start of this year.

“I remember [Alejandro] Davidovich Fokina came up to me and said he had tried my song, also [Matteo] Berrettini. That was nice,” Sonego said. “Then when I was in Adelaide, during the changeover, my song was played and that was cool. I thought, now it is time to break serve.”

Sonego’s latest song “Cielo Aperto” was released on Friday after months of work. The Italian gave insight into how his musical creations come to life and the time he dedicates to them when he is not on court.

“We have worked on Cielo Aperto for a few months. I don’t have loads of time, but I try to spend time when I have it to do a bit. I mainly do it when I'm back in Italy,” Sonego said. “Rome was a good period working on the music. When I'm away at a tournament, I try to learn the songs and I think of ideas for the song. I want to do the best songs, but I have no pressure, unlike tennis. It's tough to do better each time.”

On Tuesday, Sonego’s focus will be solely on tennis, though, with the 28-year-old playing countryman Berrettini at Wimbledon. Sonego, who won a tour-level title on grass in Antalya in 2019, is excited to be back at the historic major.

“I like to play on grass because when I serve well, I can do something special. I have a good feeling about Wimbledon,” Sonego said. “I like to use the slice and I will try to do more at the net. I like to watch tennis on grass too and I am excited.”