We the Italians September 21, 2015 - 68 | Page 26

st # 68 • SEPTEMBER 21 , 2015 Fognini, who - gossip says - she will marry next June.   Less mediatic but no less successful, indeed, is Roberta Vinci, a year smaller than Pennetta (1983 against 1982): together with Pennetta she won the four Fed Cup, has long been No. 1 in the world in doubles with Sara Errani, with whom she won 25 tournaments, including all Grand Slam, becoming the fifth most successful pair in the history of tennis.   A tennis match of friendship with the long final hug between Flavia and Roberta, the former almost apologizing for having won, the second embracing her friend with the warmest and sincere congratulations ever. But also a story with a surprise ending: after reaching 26 | WE THE ITALIANS www.wetheitalians.com the highest point of her career, Pennetta has announced his retirement, at age 33. She wants to enjoy life, putting aside the sacrifices that sport, inevitably, brings with it. A right choice, at least in this writer's opinion: it takes courage to leave when you're at the best, but it is the only choice you have if you do not want to become a pale doppelganger of what you once used to be.