Team glory and No. 1 ranking are top goals for Gianotti
French beach tennis star Nico Gianotti revealed his priorities for 2021 and beyond during an exclusive interview with the ITF on Instagram earlier this week.
The Bordeaux resident, whose love of the beach is in his blood having been born on the Caribbean island of Martinique, has set his sights on becoming the best beach tennis player in the world and in turn wants to lead his beloved French team to a World Cup win.
“My dream is to be No. 1 in the world,” he said during an Instagram Live interview with the ITF on Wednesday 15 July. “And also finally to have not a bronze or silver medal around my neck, but a gold whilst wearing the French uniform.”
Gianotti’s passion for playing in a French jersey did not translate to successful debut at the World Team Championships in Moscow last year after his team finished fifth and he wasn’t picked to play in the quarter-finals.
His ability didn’t go unnoticed, however, with Brazilian beach tennis legend Vini Font labelling the Frenchman “ridiculously talented” – something that Spanish beach tennis star Antonio Ramos Viera also picked up on ahead of the World Championships in Terracina in 2019.
The Spaniard, who was the reigning champion going into the world championships last year, was forced to find a new partner at the last minute and who should he call but Gianotti himself. The pair had to go through qualifying but made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to the eventual champions Alessandro Calbucci and Michele Cappelletti.
So how did this talented 22-year-old find his way on to the beach tennis scene?
“I grew up playing tennis in Guadeloupe,” he explained. “I was Guadeloupe champion in under 11s, 12s and 13s. I played the national French championships at Roland Garros in under 16s and under 18s. It wasn’t until 2015 that I discovered beach tennis. The first time I played was with a friend of mine in Guadeloupe. We lost 6-0 6-0. I then played again a few months later and made the final of a tournament, eventually losing in a tight match against the national French champions at the time.”
And after that Gianotti has never looked back. Despite intending to concentrate on both tennis and beach tennis, it was the latter that proved to be his passion.
He now lives and trains in Bordeaux along with six other players from the top 10 in France. Thanks to his sponsor, SANDEVER, who are also the ITF’s Global Development Partner for Beach Tennis, and to the FFT, Gianotti is able to dedicate 100 per cent of his time to beach tennis.
Originally he was studying to be a sports instructor, but owing to his beach tennis success he had to take a break from his studies in order to give more time to the sport. He is planning to resume his studies next year.