Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud gave the child mascot, who was part of the Luciano Darderi faux pas at the Italian Open semifinals, a moment to remember as they posed with him at the coin toss ceremony ahead of the men’s singles final. Darderi had seemingly ignored the mascot he was supposed to walk out onto the court with for his semifinal match.
Jannik Sinner, Casper Ruud Meet Child Mascot Ignored By Luciano Darderi At Italian Open
The controversial incident saw Darderi receive a wave of criticism on social media from fans and analysts alike. Some even called out the Italian for ignoring the mascot and striding onto the court while wearing Emporio Armani sunglasses. The awkward moment made plenty of headlines this week, and the Italian Open organizers invited the mascot to the final.
Not only that, but the mascot got to take a picture with Sinner and Ruud during the coin toss ahead of the final of the Italian Open. Journalist José Morgado shared a picture of the heartwarming moment on X.
“Fantastic gesture from the Rome tournament, who invited the child ‘ignored’ by Darderi to the coin toss in the final,” he wrote.
Fantastic gesture from the Rome tournament, who invited the child ‘ignored’ by Darderi to the coin toss in the final. https://t.co/PXrBqOgZx1 pic.twitter.com/dnFYNJKnRX
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 17, 2026
After the incident, Darderi issued an apology on social media. He said that pre-match nerves caused him to make this error in a “moment of great tension”. The Italian was handed a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing by Ruud in the semifinals of the Italian Open on Friday.
“I’m truly sorry for not shaking Camilla’s hand: it was an unintentional gesture that happened during a moment of great focus and tension on a big stage,” he later wrote on his Instagram story.
This was Darderi’s first appearance in a semifinal match at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The clay-court specialist enjoyed a dream run on home soil and is now set to jump to world No. 16 in the ATP Rankings when they are updated on Monday.
Meanwhile, Sinner made the final in Rome with a hard-fought win over Daniil Medvedev in three sets. The home favorite has enjoyed a dominant start to the clay-court swing and is enjoying an unprecedented run on the ATP Tour. He arrived at the Italian Open with five straight ATP Masters 1000 titles to his name, and hardly put a foot wrong at the tournament.
Having found his groove on clay, the world No. 1 will now have his sights set on completing the career Grand Slam with the French Open on the horizon. He was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 final.
