Long before Italy lifted the Davis Cup trophy again, Jannik Sinner had already sensed the ending. He was not in Bologna. He wasn’t the one hitting the last winning ball. Yet when Italy celebrated its third consecutive triumph, the moment felt like confirmation of something Sinner had known all along.

The hint came from Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, who smiled after the win and said, “As always, Jannik was right once again.” It made everyone wonder how Sinner had sensed what was coming so clearly, which brings us to what he said before the event even began.

Before Davis Cup, when Jannik Sinner was asked about the team, he praised the team by saying it is “an incredible team even without me, and the thing I don’t like is that no one talks about it.” Then he went a step further and called it openly: “The chance of winning is high.” And next?

Two weeks later, his confidence looked more like foresight than optimism. True, he said it before Lorenzo Musetti wwithdrew, but the reality is that Italy has so much depth that whoever steps on court can deliver. And that depth was about to show in the final.

The hosts closed out the title with a strong 2-0 win over Spain. But it all started with Matteo Berrettini setting the mood in the final at the SuperTennis Arena. He looked composed during his 6-3, 6-4 win over Pablo Carreno Busta. After that, Flavio Cobolli stepped into the spotlight once again.

He fell behind 1-6 but fought back with heart and all the power he had, taking the second set in a tiebreak and eventually sealing the match 7-5. It was the same energy he brought in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. But what stood out most this week was the way the team gelled without its biggest names.

Sinner and Musetti were absent yet Italy surpassed Austria, Belgium, and Spain with three identical 2-0 wins. Sometimes a team proves its greatness when stars are missing. This week, Italy did exactly that. But why did the key players decide to step away?

Inside the decisions that took Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti out of the event

The four-time Grand Slam winner has been the backbone of Italy’s Davis Cup success over the past two years. Jannik Sinner’s performances shaped their back-to-back titles, first with three singles and two doubles wins during the 2023 playoffs, then with another run of three singles victories and one doubles win in last year’s title defense.

Naturally, the entire Italian tennis community expected him to lead the charge again as they chased a third straight crown.

When Jannik Sinner announced in October that he would not be available for selection, that hope began to wane. It immediately generated controversy in Italy.

Legendary Davis Cup player Nicola Pietrangeli even referred to the ruling as “a real slap in the face for Italian sport,” a statement that swiftly went viral in the media and among fans. Sinner, however, remained unflinching.

His reasoning was grounded in reality. He said, “At the end of the season, you need time to recover from all the accumulated pressure, emotions experienced; the physical and mental fatigue of competition is very high, and time is required to recover and get back in shape. If you can have an extra week of preparation, you will also have an additional week to rest and arrive at the preseason much more motivated, with energy and eager to return to tennis.”

Jannik Sinner added that he plays tennis almost every day of his life and that there are moments when the exhaustion catches up. A longer break, he explained, would let him manage his training loads gradually and reduce the risk of injury.

His aim was clear. He wanted to begin his preparation early for the 2026 season, starting with the Australian Open, and his reasoning aligned closely with another important absence on the Italian team.

Lorenzo Musetti’s absence followed a different path. After a long and draining season, he admitted that it was worn down and needed time to reset. On top of that, his partner was expecting their second child, at a moment he didn’t want to miss for anything.

Italy’s win proved that a strong team can shine even when its biggest stars are not on court. In the end, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti’s choices helped the team succeed in their own way.