When Simone Tartarini decided to leave his club in La Spezia, Italy, he could not have predicted the journey that awaited him with Lorenzo Musetti. Tartarini, who prefers the title of “teacher” over coach, has been guiding Musetti since he was eight years old. Recognizing Musetti’s potential, Tartarini chose to dedicate himself fully to developing Musetti into a top-tier player.
“A really important turning point came when Lorenzo was 14,” Tartarini shared with ATPTour.com. “That’s when I made the decision to invest in him professionally and financially. I left my tennis club and started travelling the world with him to help him grow.”
Under Tartarini’s guidance, Musetti has reached a career-high No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings after an impressive start to 2025. He is one of only six players to reach the semi-finals of all three clay ATP Masters 1000 events and Roland Garros in a single season.
Their partnership began long before this success. For 15 years, Tartarini has watched Musetti evolve from a child into an adult and now a father. Despite being called a coach, Tartarini identifies as a “teacher.”
“I was born not as a coach but as a tennis teacher,” said Tartarini. “Lorenzo came to me when he was eight years old in my tennis school and from there, I started a path of teaching.”
In their early days together, they often shared hotel rooms to save money while traveling for matches. This close relationship extended beyond coaching duties.
“I’ve grown my skills over the years,” noted Tartarini. “I’ve been fortunate to be in important environments…this has allowed me to grow professionally.”
Despite his humility and dedication, Tartarini faced criticism for not fitting the traditional coach mold due to his lack of elite playing experience.
“There was another important block…It’s related to the stigma of being the coach who took the kid from school,” reflected Tartarini.
Tartarini focused on preserving Musetti’s natural flair while building resilience and competitiveness. After winning the 2019 Australian Open boys’ singles title, Musetti entered the Top 30 by capturing two ATP Tour titles in 2022.
“Now…he’s someone who accepts things more,” said Tartarini about Musetti’s development at age 23.
Musetti’s performances have silenced doubts about his potential. His notable achievement came at the Paris Olympics where he won an Olympic medal — Italy’s first since Uberto de Morpurgo in 1924.
“Italy is like the diamond in the sky of world tennis at present,” stated Tartarini regarding Italian tennis’ resurgence led by players like Jannik Sinner and Musetti.
At fifth place in PIF ATP Live Race To Turin standings currently positions Musetti close towards qualifying for Nitto ATP Finals held on home soil — supported quietly yet effectively by Simone Tartari behind-the-scenes throughout this journey together so far along way till now today here today still standing strong beside each other through thick thin times alike both equally committed evermore onwards ahead always…