ROME (AP) — Sure he’s got the biggest and most prestigious trophies. Jannik Sinner, the freshly-crowned U.S. Open champion, hasn't been the only Italian taking home hardware during an extraordinary year for the country's tennis movement, though.
Jasmine Paolini was the runner-up at successive Grand Slams, reaching the singles final at both the French Open and Wimbledon — plus the doubles final in Paris with Sara Errani.
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Sara Errani, of Italy, and Andrea Vavassori, of Italy, react after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Donald Young, of the United States, in the mixed doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
ROME (AP) — Sure he’s got the biggest and most prestigious trophies. Jannik Sinner, the freshly-crowned U.S. Open champion, hasn't been the only Italian taking home hardware during an extraordinary year for the country's tennis movement, though.
Jasmine Paolini, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Lorenzo Musetti, of Italy, returns a shot to Brandon Nakashima, of the United States, during a third round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Sara Errani, of Italy, and Andrea Vavassori, of Italy, react after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Donald Young, of the United States, in the mixed doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds up the championship trophy after defeating Taylor Fritz, of the United States, in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Paolini then teamed up with Errani to win gold in the women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics.
Lorenzo Musetti also took home the bronze in the men’s singles for Italy’s first Olympic tennis medal in 100 years.
Then Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the mixed doubles trophy at the U.S. Open days before Sinner’s latest triumph in New York — which cemented his status as No. 1 in the rankings.
Simone Bolelli and Vavassori were also the runners-up in the men's doubles at the year's opening two Grand Slams.
Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian tennis and padel federation, said: “We need to prepare ourselves because we’re entering a new era. Do you remember (Bjorn) Borg’s Sweden or (Rafael) Nadal’s Spain? The numbers tell us that this will be Italy’s era. We’re making more and more progress, with the women, too.”
Sinner’s Australian Open title in January made him the first Italian man to win a Grand Slam title in nearly a half-century — since Adriano Panatta raised the French Open trophy in 1976. And now he has two in one year.
Shortly before the U.S. Open started, Sinner was exonerated in a doping case that he had been dealing with for months, but that hadn’t been made public until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows.
“He won two of the four Slams and played the other two with a huge burden hanging over his shoulders,” Binaghi said.
Italy has seven men ranked in the top 50, is the defending Davis Cup champion and has three top doubles teams in Errani-Paolini, Bolelli-Vavassori and Errani-Vavassori, who will aim for more hardware in the mixed events.
“Get your tickets and enjoy this era of success,” Binaghi said. “The next goal will be to win a big tournament in Italy.”
The last home man to win the Italian Open singles title was Panatta in 1976, while Raffaella Reggi was the last Italian woman to win her home tournament in 1985.
Sinner withdrew from this year's Italian Open due to a hip injury.
Binaghi, who has led the Italian federation since 2001 — back when the Italian Open often attracted more fans to its after-hours disco parties than what happened on the courts — attributes much of his country’s boom to the development of the SuperTennis TV channel.
The federation’s outlet, which operates 24 hours per day broadcasting tournaments worldwide year-round to Italian households, is the country’s most-watched non-soccer sports channel.
Sunday’s final, in which Sinner beat Taylor Fritz, was watched by an average of 1.8 million people on SuperTennis, which had a total of 3.6 million viewers and a 10.12% share — meaning that about one in every 10 people watching TV in Italy was watching the U.S. Open.
“We gave Italians free tennis coverage,” Binaghi said on the channel after Sinner’s victory.
The success of Italian players is also due to the abundance of lower-level Challenger events in the country. On Monday, Francesco Passaro won one such tournament in Genoa to give the nation 10 singles titles on that circuit this year.
Italy will also host the ATP Finals in November for the fourth consecutive year, with Sinner having finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2023.
While the current contract for the Turin-based tournament expires after the 2025 edition, the Italian federation is working to extend the deal.
The year-ending event for the top eight men’s singles players and doubles teams could then be moved to a bigger arena being built in Milan for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
“We’re not at full capacity just at the Foro Italico for the Italian Open or the Inalpi Arena (for the ATP Finals),” Binaghi said. “Our tennis and padel clubs are overcrowded and have long waiting lists.
“We need to make big investments in infrastructure,” Binaghi added, before anticipating a future announcement. "I’ll tell you right now that in a year or 1 ½ years we will do something else crazy.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Sara Errani, of Italy, and Andrea Vavassori, of Italy, hold up the championship trophy after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Donald Young, of the United States, in the mixed doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Jasmine Paolini, of Italy, reacts after scoring a point against Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Lorenzo Musetti, of Italy, returns a shot to Brandon Nakashima, of the United States, during a third round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Sara Errani, of Italy, and Andrea Vavassori, of Italy, react after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Donald Young, of the United States, in the mixed doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds up the championship trophy after defeating Taylor Fritz, of the United States, in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The Justice Department did not allege that he fired any shots. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury.
Routh appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach, kickstarting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump's life in as many months, raising fresh questions about the security afforded to him during a time of amped-up political rhetoric. It prompted Republican allies and even some Democrats to demand to know how a would-be shooter could get so close.
Routh was arrested Sunday afternoon after authorities spotted a firearm poking out of shrubbery on the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing. He was spotted by a Secret Service agent assigned to Trump's security detail who opened fire. Routh sped away before being captured by law enforcement in a neighboring county, the authorities said.
Body camera footage posted Monday on Facebook by the Martin County sheriff’s office showed Routh’s arrest. The video shows him walking backward with his hands over his head on the side of a road before being handcuffed and led away by law enforcement.
Underscoring the level of planning involved, Routh is believed to have been positioned at the tree line of the golf course from about 1:59 a.m. to 1:31 p.m. Sunday, according to an FBI affidavit that cites cellphone data. A digital camera, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food were recovered from the area where Routh had been standing, according to the affidavit.
Coming just weeks after a July shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which Trump was wounded by a gunman's bullet, the latest assassination attempt accelerated concerns that violence continues to infect American presidential politics. Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's challenger in the November election, denounced the thwarted attack, with Harris saying in a post on X: "I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”
“We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability, and we will bring every available resource to bear in this investigation,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Authorities did not immediately reveal any new details about Routh's background or allege a particular motive in charging documents. But his large online footprint suggests a man of evolving political viewpoints, culminating in an apparent disdain for Trump and intense outrage at global events concerning China and especially Ukraine.
“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published 2023 book titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal.
Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and must take part of the blame for the “child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.”
He also tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and he had a website seeking to raise money and recruit volunteers to fight for Kyiv.
Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic primary in March.
Routh also made 19 small donations totaling $140 since 2019 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.
One of the two counts he faces alleges that he illegally possessed his gun in spite of multiple felony convictions, including two charges of possessing stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina. The other charge alleges that the serial number was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye, in violation of federal law.
Routh was ordered held after prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk, with additional hearings set for later this month.
He spoke in a soft voice as he answered perfunctory questions from a federal magistrate, saying that he was working and making around $3,000 a month, but has zero savings. Routh said that he has no real estate or assets, aside from two trucks worth about $1,000, both located in Hawaii. He also said that he has a 25-year-old son, whom he sometimes supports.
The arrest focused fresh attention on the challenges of protecting Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, not only during campaign events but also when he is off the trail, often at his own clubs and properties.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump’s rivals in the GOP primary, said his state will conduct its own investigation into how Routh was able to get so close.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw noted at a briefing that because Trump is no longer in office, security protocols around the course had loosened.
“He’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, his security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” he told reporters.
On July 13, a bullet grazed Trump's ear after a 20-year-old gunman was able to gain access to an unsecured roof during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Tucker, Durkin Richer and Long reported from Washington.
Justin Navarez, of Lake Worth, Fla. puts up flags on his vehicle outside of the Mar-a-Lago estate after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Justin Navarez, of Lake Worth, Fla., puts up flags on his vehicle outside of the Mar-a-Lago estate after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Law enforcement patrols in a boat outside of the Mar-a-Lago estate after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Law enforcement patrols in a boat outside of the Mar-a-Lago estate after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This image provided by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office shows a Feb. 10, 2010 booking photo of Ryan Wesley Routh. (Guilford County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Officers with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office work outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A vehicle with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office is parked outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Law enforcement officials work outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
An FBI officer works outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
An FBI officer works outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The Trump International Golf Club is shown, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
An FBI officer works outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The Trump International Golf Club is shown after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The Trump International Golf Club is shown, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
