Born in Argentina, Darderi was eligible for Italian citizenship through his grandfather and joined the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) at the age of 10. His younger brother, Vito Antonio, six years his junior, was the Italian under-12 champion, but Luciano has already achieved much more: his highest junior ranking was world No. 8.
In the professional circuit, Darderi initially climbed the ATP rankings through success on the ITF World Tennis Tour (two titles) and ATP Challenger Tour (three titles and three finals). However, his biggest breakthrough came early last year. At the ATP tournament in Córdoba, Argentina, he came through the qualifiers and went on to win the title, defeating local player Facundo Bagnis in the final. It was only the third time since the ATP Tour’s inception in 1990 that two qualifiers met in a final.
On his way to the Córdoba title, he defeated players such as Austria’s Sebastian Ofner (then ranked No. 38) and Argentina’s Sebastián Báez (then No. 26), proving he was ready to take on top-level competition. Riding high on confidence, he followed up with several strong results: a quarterfinal in Santiago, semifinal in Houston, third round at the Masters 1000 in Rome, semifinal in Lyon, his first Grand Slam win at Roland-Garros, and a quarterfinal in Hamburg.
Most of his best results have come on clay courts, and as a result, he struggled to replicate his success in the second half of the season. After the second round in Umag, he played 12 more tournaments that year but recorded only two wins. The start of this year wasn’t much better on hard courts—he lost in the first round of his first three tournaments—but his return to European clay changed everything. He reached the final at the ATP Challenger in Naples, and just a week later, claimed his second ATP title in Marrakech, Morocco. Dropping only one set during the tournament, he showed signs of the same form that propelled him in the previous season. More good results followed: a quarterfinal in Munich, second rounds at the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, and another quarterfinal in Hamburg.
Darderi achieved his career-high ATP ranking of No. 32 around this time last year. Although his ranking has slightly dipped since then, he remains part of the highly successful group of Italian players. This is his third time competing in Umag. Last year, he beat Duje Ajduković in the opening round before falling to Czech player Jakub Menšík. He has also played other ATP-ranking events in Croatia, including the ITF World Tennis Tour in Poreč (first round) and the ATP Challenger in Zadar (second round).
Get ready, Umag – @luciano_darderi is stepping onto Croatian clay and he’s bringing the italian passion!
In the professional circuit, Darderi initially climbed the ATP rankings through success on the ITF World Tennis Tour (two titles) and ATP Challenger Tour (three titles and three finals). However, his biggest breakthrough came early last year. At the ATP tournament in Córdoba, Argentina, he came through the qualifiers and went on to win the title, defeating local player Facundo Bagnis in the final. It was only the third time since the ATP Tour’s inception in 1990 that two qualifiers met in a final.
On his way to the Córdoba title, he defeated players such as Austria’s Sebastian Ofner (then ranked No. 38) and Argentina’s Sebastián Báez (then No. 26), proving he was ready to take on top-level competition. Riding high on confidence, he followed up with several strong results: a quarterfinal in Santiago, semifinal in Houston, third round at the Masters 1000 in Rome, semifinal in Lyon, his first Grand Slam win at Roland-Garros, and a quarterfinal in Hamburg.
Most of his best results have come on clay courts, and as a result, he struggled to replicate his success in the second half of the season. After the second round in Umag, he played 12 more tournaments that year but recorded only two wins. The start of this year wasn’t much better on hard courts—he lost in the first round of his first three tournaments—but his return to European clay changed everything. He reached the final at the ATP Challenger in Naples, and just a week later, claimed his second ATP title in Marrakech, Morocco. Dropping only one set during the tournament, he showed signs of the same form that propelled him in the previous season. More good results followed: a quarterfinal in Munich, second rounds at the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, and another quarterfinal in Hamburg.
Darderi achieved his career-high ATP ranking of No. 32 around this time last year. Although his ranking has slightly dipped since then, he remains part of the highly successful group of Italian players. This is his third time competing in Umag. Last year, he beat Duje Ajduković in the opening round before falling to Czech player Jakub Menšík. He has also played other ATP-ranking events in Croatia, including the ITF World Tennis Tour in Poreč (first round) and the ATP Challenger in Zadar (second round).
Get ready, Umag – @luciano_darderi is stepping onto Croatian clay and he’s bringing the italian passion!
