Andreas Seppi was denied a tour farewell by the Italian tennis federation as they refused to give him wild cards to ATP events in Naples and Florence.
The 38-year-old announced his retirement last week and was hoping to bid farewell at an ATP tournament at home.
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Despite Italy hosting two back-to-back events, in Florence and Naples this week, they refused to give him a wild card for either.
Andreas Seppi on his IG stories ☹️ pic.twitter.com/rwWopz9vxh
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) October 16, 2022
“I would have loved to play in the Florence or Naples tournament for my farewell to professional tennis, but unfortunately the Italian Tennis Federation did not allow me to, saying that ‘giving a Wild Card to a retiring player would have been a waste,'” Seppi said in an Instagram story.
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A former top-20 player, Seppi has three tour titles to his name.
Currently ranked 257 in the world, Seppi will thus bring the curtain down on his 20-year career at the ATP Challenger in Ortesei next week.
Andreas Seppi not getting a wildcard into a tour event in Italy to end his career is a joke. The guy has had a brilliant career, represented his country at Davis Cups and Olympic Games and the Italian Federation can’t give a WC? Pretty pathetic.
— John Millman (@johnhmillman) October 17, 2022
“Andreas Seppi not getting a wildcard into a tour event in Italy to end his career is a joke,” Australian pro John Millman said on twitter.
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“The guy has had a brilliant career, represented his country at Davis Cups and Olympic Games and the Italian Federation can’t give a WC? Pretty pathetic.”
