Tennis star Matteo Berrettini has been dating Melissa Satta since January 2023. Before Satta, the 27-year-old Italian was in a relationship with Australian Ajla Tomljanovic for nearly three years. He is best known for being the first Italian man to make it to the quarterfinals of all 4 major Grand Slams.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Satta revealed how the two of them met at a common friend’s party and sparks flew immediately. She spoke about her relationship, how they met and kept in touch through WhatsApp text messages, despite living in different cities.
“In Miami, at a dinner with mutual friends. We talked to each other, we exchanged phone numbers and we started talking from there. The next day we were both leaving. My life is in Milan, he lives in Monte Carlo.” she said.
“A thousand chats on WhatsApp. Which never ended. I’ve met people at dinner and exchanged numbers, but often it ends as it began. Not with Matteo. If we are still here, it is because then we managed to meet in various cities,” she added.
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Satta is a model and a TV performer. She also has a huge social media following. She entered the fashion business in 2022 at the young age of 16. She started making appearances in various Italian television programs.
She was a showgirl in the show Striscia la notizia. Satta also performed for MTV Italy and made an appearance in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Satta also made an appearance on the cover of Maxim magazine that year.
As lucky in love as the couple may have been, Matteo Berrettini hasn’t been in good form of late. Melissa has, unfortunately, found herself in the firing line for Berrettini‘s poor showing on court.
Why is Melissa Satta being blamed for Matteo Berrettini’s poor form?
Matteo Berrettini has found himself on the losing side far too often this season. He has faced early exits at the Australian Open, BNP Paribas, and Miami Open too. He also suffered a grade 2 tear of his abdominal oblique muscle, forcing him to withdraw from the Italian Open, after having to sit out of Madrid Open.
Satta opened up about how she has been facing “bullying and sexism” online because of that since she started dating the tennis player. The model hit back at those who think she is to blame for his injuries and poor form. “But in any case: do I really have to answer to these people?” Satta asked.
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This isn’t Satta’s first brush with online harassment. When she was married to German soccer player Kevin Prince Boateng, fans blamed his injuries on too much sex. “There, too, they attacked me saying that we had too much s*x and that was the cause of his physical problems,” said Satta.
Satta revealed she did not want to fan the allegations until a newspaper headline caught her eye. “It was something that had been going on for months when our story became known in January: Berrettini doesn’t win because there’s Satta who distracts him, it’s too demanding,”
“The title of the newspaper: ‘Melissa Satta brings bad luck’, after the game at the Montecarlo tournament in which Matteo won, but after which he stopped for the injury. How can you write something like that? It’s not ethical. Legitimate my hatred.” she added.
Sexism and online bullying of a player’s wife or girlfriend aren’t new, unfortunately, as it comes with being associated with a famous name. Although she is being judged by some critics, Satta has always been a strong supporter of her partner.