Italian Open Tennis: Foro Italico is Rome’s Living Room in May

In Rome, May means one thing: the Internazionali. For two weeks, the Foro Italico — the sports complex built by Mussolini, with sixty marble athlete statues lining the banks of the Tiber — becomes something that New York, Paris and London can only dream of.

Stadio Pietrangeli

Court number two is considered the most beautiful in the world. Sixty Olympic marbles serve as the stands, in an amphitheatre that looks built for tennis but has been there since the 1930s. Get there early in the morning when the world’s top 50–100 are playing, and you suddenly understand why so many players say Rome is their favourite stop of the year.

The walks, the cacio e pepe

The Foro Italico is a park. You wander through it with your pass between matches, sit under the umbrella pines, eat carbonara and amatriciana at the food stands (yes, the real thing). You see famous athletes having coffee three metres away — it’s the most “Italian” thing imaginable, in a tournament that is also so much more.

The evening sessions

The evening sessions on the Centrale have become iconic: the new stadium, lit up, with the crowd singing — a Champions League atmosphere, at a tennis tournament. Sinner, Musetti and Berrettini have their own fan clubs arriving with flags and chants.

What to do if you come

Buy a day ticket in the early qualifying rounds — it gives you access to all courts except the Centrale, and that’s when the tournament is most relaxed. Morning at the Pietrangeli, lunch at the Foro, afternoon wandering around. It’s not just tennis; it’s a Roman day out.

The full programme, qualifying dates, draws and tickets are on the official site: internazionalibnlditalia.com.

Practical info
Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2026: from 28 April to 17 May at the Foro Italico.
Our Rome apartments (Vatican City Deluxe, Bernini, Navona, Drusilla, Ottavia, Rome Nest) are all 15–25 minutes from the Foro Italico by metro or taxi — perfect for coming back, having a quick shower and heading out again in the evening. The tournament runs late: best not to have a morning train the day after.