Andreas Seppi denied wildcard for farewell tournament as more spotlight shone on Tennis Napoli Cup

Longtime Italian pro Andreas Seppi retired from tennis abruptly but he did not get a chance to say goodbye in his native Italy.

He revealed it in a short statement made on Instagram written in both English and Italian. Seppi explained that he was denied a wild card entry into the main draw as giving it to a retired player would be a 'waste'. The tone of his message clearly indicates his disappointment but the Italian Tennis Federation clearly did not care:

"I would have loved to play in the Florence or Naples tournament for my farewell to professional tennis, but unfortunately the Italian Tennis Federation did not allow me to, saying that 'giving a wild card to a retiring player would have been a waste."

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