Sinner wins Wimbledon, but Italy's institutions are absent: the Meloni government's disappearances and Abodi's own goal.

Someone please inform Andrea Abodi , who, as Minister of Sport, is effectively what he himself calls an "institution." Because the former president of the Serie B football league, chosen by Giorgia Meloni for the ministerial post, in justifying the absence of the Italian sporting elite at Wimbledon on Sunday , where Italian Jannik Sinner won the London Grand Slam on grass, managed to say he was "sorry for the absence of the Italian institutions."

Beyond the minister's own goal, the effective absence of Abodi and the new CONI head Luciano Buonfiglio was striking, with only the president of the Italian Tennis Federation, Angelo Binaghi , in attendance. This was countered by the presence in the stands of none other than Spain's King Felipe VI , to whom the world number two, defeated in the four-set final, offered a heartfelt thank you.

On the other hand, on the Italian side, the only “institution” present on Centre Court at Wimbledon to witness the highly anticipated Sinner-Alcaraz final was the ambassador to London Inigo Albertini , who, with all due respect, is not exactly a key figure.

The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella was not present at the temple of tennis, unable to attend due to other commitments, with the Quirinale social media silent after the epic victory of the tennis player from San Candido, just as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was not there, who dedicated a post to Jannik, as were her deputies Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini .

The problem for the government, however, is Abodi's words, speaking to "La Politica del Pallone" on Gr Parlamento. The minister's remarks backfired: " Even a minister sometimes has to pause, need a break, spend a day with his family, " Abodi explained. The question is inevitable: if a sports minister isn't flying to London to support an Italian tennis player in the Wimbledon final, what's the point?

Perhaps someone in the executive has recalled the controversy that engulfed the then Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in 2015, when he flew to New York to attend the all-Italian women's final of the US Open between Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci , together with the then number one of CONI and the ever-present Binaghi, with the accusation that Renzi was "protagonism".