ROME, April 24, 2025
Rome has so far been a great stop for Sandro Kopp. The 24-year-old Austrian from Tyrol battled his way through qualifying of the over the weekend to secure a spot in the main draw of the Roma Garden Open. On Tuesday, he went on to win his first-round match against Kazakh player Denis Yevseyev followed by knocking out No. 3 seed Hadyd Habib of Lebanon on Wednesday. Kopp has reached his second career quarterfinal on the ATP Challenger Tour.
We sat down with the World No. 382 for an interview, discussing recent challenges, his playing style, and life on tour.
Tennis TourTalk: Sandro, you’ve just come from Antalya where you played in the well-known ITF World Tennis Tour series. What was the experience like?
Sandro Kopp: Originally, I had planned to focus mainly on Challenger tournaments this year. Unfortunately, I dropped a bit in the rankings. Antalya is very nice, and the weather is great, but you’re not really seen as a tennis player there — it’s more about bringing money into the hotels. Of course, you’re happy that the tour exists, but there are very few tournaments happening at the moment. You’re almost forced to play there. I didn’t feel completely comfortable, and unfortunately, that affected my results. I’ve been playing ITF events for many years, and the competition is getting tougher. M25 tournaments now feel like smaller Challengers. Financially, it’s tough too. You have to fight for every point and try to play a lot of league tennis. I play in Austria for Telfs and in Germany this season for Wiesbaden for the first time. It’s also about securing sponsors — the environment plays a big role in that.
What does qualifying for a Challenger main draw mean to you?
That’s always the goal when you enter qualifying. It gives me a boost. I came here without any expectations and didn’t even check who I might be playing. I’m just trying to make the most of it.
Is this your first time at the Roma Garden Open?
I’ve been to Italy a hundred times, but actually, this is my first time in Rome. It’s really beautiful here. The people are friendly, the food is great, and even in the first few days of the tournament, there have already been a lot of fans around. The atmosphere is really good.
Really solid performance by qualifier Sandro Kopp at the Roma Garden Open.
He knocks out No. 3 seed Hady Habib in straight sets to reach his second career QF on the ATP Challenger Tour.#ATPChallenger #Rome pic.twitter.com/KGklJZ5ebi
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) April 23, 2025
How would you describe your playing style? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
I have a strong serve and like to use kick serve. I try to get into rallies and fight for every point, even in long exchanges. The ideal point for me is finishing things off at the net. I still need to work on becoming more consistent and delivering my performance day by day, week after week. That’s something I need to keep working on.
Which surface do you feel most comfortable on?
For years, clay was by far my favorite surface. But that’s not such a big deal anymore. At my training base in Seefeld, we now have new hard courts, which helped me a lot. The most important thing for me is that it’s an outdoor tournament. I don’t feel very comfortable playing indoors.
Many players say that surfaces are becoming more and more alike. Do you feel the same way?
Maybe that’s more the case on the ATP Tour, where courts are temporarily installed inside stadiums just for the tournament. At Futures and Challenger level, the facilities are often older and more permanent, so there are still clear differences. What I have noticed though is that ball quality has become really poor. The balls fluff up too much, and the felt quality is not good. You have to hit really hard, which can lead to elbow and wrist problems. The game is becoming more physical — it’s a bit like, “whoever hits harder, wins!”
You spend a lot of time traveling on tour. How do you handle the demands of constant travel?
It’s often really exhausting, and I’m not a huge fan of traveling, to be honest. There are a lot of lost days, and so many things are out of your control. That doesn’t suit me very well. Before a tournament, you have to organize everything — flights, hotels, shuttles, signing in. If you move up the ranks, maybe you get a manager or agent to take care of that, but that’s usually not the case for players at this level. Still, I do think it’s cool to see so many different places. Maybe I’ll have a day off here and finally get to see a bit of the city. I’ve been here four days and only seen the hotel and the venue. Luckily, my girlfriend is with me this week, so hopefully we can enjoy a little sightseeing together.
Thank you and all the best.
Interview: Florian Heer
