Why is Melissa Satta blamed if Matteo Berrettini doesn’t play well?

In the series A team, Paolo Bertolucci, Adriano Panatta’s doubles partner, tells of how, in a Roman cinema, a spectator at halftime of the film, seeing Loredana Bertè next to Panatta, yelled at the tennis player that it was clear why he was no longer winning. The reason was a woman from show business next to him, as is now the case at Matthew Berrettini with Melissa Satta.

The photo of the Roman tennis player and the showgirl published on social media has brought even more hatred to the net than what had already been experienced by the couple. To answer this, Berrettini granted an interview a few weeks ago saying that he was a boy in love like many at his age.

The question is, isn’t a sportsman entitled to it? Not for the haters. For a part of the fans, of Berrettini, but also of many other sportsmen, the champion has only the duty to win. When a champion, like Berrettini, doesn’t get results (this has been the case objectively for him since the beginning of the year, with several eliminations in the first round) the fault lies with his mistakes: too few training sessions, too many off-field activities from TV appearances to commercials.

Berrettini’s “fault” is the most serious according to a male-dominated prejudice, as is much of the world of sport, and deeply rooted: a partner who comes from the world of entertainment. The woman, who appears quite an object in this vision, is a distraction that a sportsman cannot afford: it is she who makes him lose, who takes away his concentration.

“It’s a pity we have lost a valid and capable tennis player, of course he has a soft spot for rich young and handsome sportsmen, how can he blame her, lucky her, as long as the physique holds up everything is in her favor”. «From Set to Satta it’s all a moment». «That’s why a shift doesn’t pass…!!!!».

Messages on social media almost all have this tone which is not new. The sportsman-showgirl couple, especially in the velina-footballer declination, has always been at the center of the bar talk and the gossip and sports news. There are many examples: Buffon-Seredova and then D’AmicoTotti-Blasi, Melissa Satta herself and Kevin Prince Boateng, Martina Colombari and Alberto Tomba and then Alessandro Costacurta who became her husband, Vieri and Elisabetta Canalis before starting a family with Costanza Caracciolo, David and Victoria Beckham wanting to go abroad.

If there are no repercussions on the pitch, the champion is even more admired for having a beautiful woman by his side, a trophybut if things don’t go well, the partner becomes a trophy distraction. The vision is always from a male point of view, even if many comments come from women, a sign of a deeply rooted patriarchal thought. The sporting culture, on the other hand, is not rooted. The ups and downs on the field have always existed and there are many possible causes. It is no coincidence that many athletes often remember that “sometimes you win and sometimes you learn”. Let’s hope Matteo Berrettini learns well not to listen to hateful voices.

More stories from Vanity Fair that may interest you:

– Melissa Satta single again, she ended up with Mattia Rivetti

– Matteo Berrettini against the prejudices of beauty

– Are Matteo Berrettini and Paola Di Benedetto together?

– Matteo Berrettini, sightings and social clues: new flirt?

– Matteo Berrettini single, ended up with Ajla Tomljanovic

To receive the other cover of Vanity Fair (and much more), subscribe to Vanity Weekend.