A gesture that touched the hearts of millions of people. Adriano Panatta, the champion who made Italy dream in 1976 by winning Roland Garros, is back in the news, but this time not for a sporting triumph. In silence, away from the spotlight, he decided to auction off the racket with which he had written one of the most glorious pages in the history of Italian tennis.
The announcement came without fanfare, through a short statement that many initially didn’t even notice. No press conference, no sponsorship: just a simple and sincere gesture that went around the world in just a few hours. Because behind that auction there was no vanity, but a profound act of love.
Panatta, now seventy years old, has chosen to allocate entirely the proceeds to the construction of a sports center for deaf children on the outskirts of Rome. A project that he himself described as “my greatest victory”, a way to give something back to the life and sport that gave him everything.
The racket, a Dunlop Maxply wooden model, has over time become an almost sacred symbol for fans. With that Panatta defeated Björn Borg, brought the strongest opponents to their knees and wrote his name among the giants of world tennis. Seeing it now change hands for such a noble cause has moved even the most sceptical.
“It was never easy to part with it,” he confessed in an exclusive interview. “But I felt that the time had come to give this object a new meaning. If with that racket I made Italians dream, now I want it to help make children smile who cannot hear the screams of the public, but can still feel the joy of the game.”
His words struck deeply. In just a few days, the auction exceeded all expectations: collectors from all over the world made offers, not only to own a piece of history, but to be part of an authentic, human gesture. The final value was surprising, but for Panatta the number didn’t matter: “The important thing is what will come from all this.”
And what will be born will be a small paradise for dozens of children. The project, supported by the Italian Tennis Federation and various charities, involves the construction of accessible courts, rehabilitation spaces and introductory sports courses with instructors specialized in sign language. A dream that will soon become reality.
But the most touching part of this story emerged only later. During a television interview, Panatta revealed that behind his decision there was a promise made many years ago to a child he met in a pediatric hospital. The little boy, who was deaf, told him: “I would just like to see a field where we can play too.” Those words, Panatta says, have never left him.
For more than forty years, that phrase remained in his heart, a silent memory that today finally found its answer. “I promised I would do it one day,” he said with a smile tinged with melancholy. “It took time, but the promises made to children are never forgotten.”
The world of tennis, often accustomed to scandals and controversies, stopped to applaud this gesture. Players of every generation, from Federer to Sinner, have expressed their admiration for the former Italian champion. “Panatta reminded us what it really means to be a champion,” Novak Djokovic wrote on social media. “It’s not just about winning, it’s about knowing how to give.”
Today that racket is no longer a trophy, but a symbol of hope. In an era dominated by noise, Adriano Panatta chose silence to speak louder than anyone else. A silence that builds, that unites, that moves. And perhaps, precisely in that silence, lies the most beautiful sound that tennis has ever known.
