Fifty years of waiting, erased in two sets. On Sunday, May 17, 2026, under a blazing sun and in front of a delirious Foro Italico, Jannik Sinner defeated Norway's Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to win the Italian Open. A result that alone would be historic—the last Italian to achieve it was Adriano Panatta in 1976—but it brings with it a host of firsts that catapult the South Tyrolean into a legendary dimension of tennis.
Here are all the records Sinner broke in this tournament:
1. The Career Golden Masters
By winning in Rome, Sinner completed his collection of all nine career Masters 1000 titles, taking the Career Golden MastersBefore him, in the history of tennis, only Novak Djokovic had managed it. A company of two names, in over thirty years of modern tennis. And Jannik did it just , against Djokovic's 31.
2. The treble on clay
Sinner won Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome consecutively in the same season. A clay-court treble previously achieved only by Rafael Nadal. Sinner becomes the second player ever to achieve it.
3. Six consecutive Masters 1000 wins
The Rome trophy is the sixth consecutive Masters 1000 won by Sinner, and the fifth of 2026A streak of absolute domination that has no equal in contemporary tennis.
4. 34 consecutive victories in the Masters 1000
Sinner extended his streak of Masters 1000 tournament victories to 34, a streak that places him among the most dominant players in recent history.
5. The first Italian after Panatta (50 years later)
The last victory by an Italian tennis player in the men's singles at the Internationals dates back to 1976, when Adriano Panatta — who was also present in the stands on Sunday — lifted the trophy.
And now Paris
With three consecutive clay-court Masters titles already under his belt, Sinner heads to Roland Garros—which begins May 24th—as the clear favorite. The 2026 season: 36 wins and only 2 losses. At 24, the South Tyrolean is already among the all-time greats. And in Rome, where the history of Italian tennis finally found its new hero, the crowd chanted his name until sunset.
