Darderi: "Whenever I can, I try to train with Alcaraz and Sinner"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 25 Feb 2026 | 00.00

Darderi: "Whenever I can, I try to train with Alcaraz and Sinner, because they are the best." Photo: Gettyimages

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Luciano Darderi is one of the standout players of the South American clay court swing. The Italo-Argentinian reached the final of the ATP Buenos Aires, where he fell to Fran Cerúndolo (6-4, 6-2). Despite the defeat, he left the tournament as the world number 21, his best position in the ATP ranking.

The accumulated fatigue from the Argentine tournament took its toll on his debut at the ATP Rio, where he lost to the other Cerúndolo brother, Juan Manuel (1-6, 6-3, 4-6). However, he is now ready to close out the South American clay court swing on a high note at the ATP Santiago de Chile, where he will be the number two seed and face Mariano Navone in his first match.

Before stepping onto the Chilean clay, Navone talked in an interview with the Chilean outlet La Tercera about the top two players in the world: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and also addressed the controversy surrounding the potential surface change for the South American swing to stay on the tour. He also shared his main goals for 2026.

Luciano Darderi wants to train with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

"Whenever I can, I try to train with Alcaraz and Sinner. I train with them because it is crucial for my development. They are very humble guys, good people. Alcaraz is a good kid, from a good family," and with Sinner, Musetti, and the other Italians, the relationship is solid. It's a good group of people; they are very sincere, and I get along with them beyond tennis."

Strongly defends that the South American swing should remain on clay

"I believe South America needs tournaments because over 10% in the rankings are South Americans. I don’t understand why we don’t deserve these tournaments. For example, this tournament has a lot of prestige, Buenos Aires and Rio as well. Many players have passed through there. With that Masters 1000 in Arabia, the swing would break a bit, and that's not up to one person but the ATP and those who organize it. I am just a player trying to express my opinion."

"If you ask me, I would keep it on clay. I like to play there; South American players earn points on clay, and they also deserve a clay court swing."

Sinner or Alcaraz?

I don’t know, they both play incredibly, Jannik is two years older than Carlos. They are improving, climbing, falling in tennis; there are injuries, tough moments. They both perform well on different surfaces. Sinner plays slightly better than Carlos indoors; he won the ATP Finals two or three years. Carlos is more unpredictable in his plays, a bit more random, with more variety. Sinner is more solid; he plays more tactically, although now he is changing a lot, using more drop shots, approaching the net more, and trying to add more variety to his game, and I think that is also helping him improve a lot.

Reveals who his idols are

I liked the way Del Potro hit with his forehand, and then as I grew up, I started to like Federer; how he played, his style... Those were my first two idols. Obviously, Djokovic is the greatest in history in terms of titles. It's not insignificant, and he is also an idol because at 38, he is performing at that level. The other day I was watching the final with Alcaraz, and it was incredible to see him fight there. I have to take him as an example.

Has clear goals but doesn’t want to rush

"A year ago, the goal was the top 50, now it's the top 20. Then I'll try to break into the top 10, and always aim higher. There's no rush or illusions; I have a lot of room for improvement ahead of me."

"I'm still very young; I turned 24 a week ago, so I think I still have a lot to improve physically and mentally, in my tennis, in my consistency. There's still plenty to work on, and we're doing a good job with my team, my father, who has supported me in the good and the bad times. Additionally, we have now brought in Guillermo Pérez Roldán, a great guy. But the main goal is to play a full season without injuries," says Luciano Darderi, who is currently at the peak of his career and enjoying a South American clay court swing that is under threat.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Darderi: "Siempre que puedo intento entrenar con Alcaraz y Sinner"