University of Georgia Athletics
Vulpitta Blossoming In Second Season With Bulldogs
May 08, 2026 | Men's Tennis, The Frierson Files
Staff Writer
About two weeks after Gabriele Vulpitta arrived in Athens in January 2025 as a mid-year newcomer, the Georgia men's tennis freshman was on the court with the Bulldogs in a match against Mercer inside the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts. It was a rapid start to his introduction to both college life and college tennis for the native of Rome, Italy.
"Everything was pretty quick," Vulpitta, now an experienced sophomore, said Thursday, ahead of the No. 12-seeded Bulldogs NCAA round of 16 match at No. 5-seed Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville. "It was tough, because playing college tennis is very different than playing pro, so I had to adapt a little bit."
Georgia head coach Jamie Hunt said Vulpitta might not have ever played a match on indoor hard courts before that dual-match season opener, but he was up for the challenge.
"We threw him in the deep end, and he was swimming," Hunt said. "It was a great example of what college tennis is all about. You've got to be tough, you've got to grow, and you've got to handle tough things."
Vulpitta won that first match and went on to go 8-8 in singles matches as a freshman, playing mostly at the No. 6 spot. He and then-teammate Miguel Perez Peña were 8-5 at the No. 3 doubles position, as well. So far this season, Vulpitta is 12-6 in completed dual matches, and 19-9 overall in singles. In doubles, he and Will Jansen are 15-7, going 12-6 at No. 2 and 3-1 at No. 1.
"I feel like this year has been a lot better, because I'm more confident and more comfortable," Vulpitta said.
The top tennis players in the world are in Rome this week for the Italian Open, one of the biggest clay-court events leading up to the French Open. When he was young, Vulpitta, who started playing tennis when he was around 8 years old, would occasionally go watch the tournament. And at his local club in Rome, the pros would sometimes be practicing on the courts next to him.
"It's very good to have a big tournament in your city. The players used to come to my club, and when I was hitting, I would have (current women's No. 1-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka) hitting next to me, or (former men's No. 3-ranked player Grigor Dimitrov) next to me. It was very good."
Did he try to impress them with his game?
"No," he said with a laugh, "I would probably start to miss every ball."
Vulpitta arrived at Georgia with a lot of game, including a big, powerful forehand. Hunt described that forehand as "a major, major weapon," so the key to Vulpitta's development was going to be improving the rest of his shots and his tactical approach to tennis.
"The backhand has improved a lot, the slice, the volleys. I think he's being a lot smarter with (the forehand) this year, and a little less stubborn when it's not working," Hunt said. "He knows how good his forehand can be, and when it's not clicking or not firing, he, in the past, just kept going. Now, he kind of realized, OK, let me dial it back a little bit; let me build the point a little bit more and wait for a great opportunity instead of a good opportunity to try and be aggressive.
"He's making really good decisions now on when to be aggressive."
Vulpitta agreed.
"I've worked a lot on my backhand and on my body. I've improved a lot, and I think one of the things I've improved the most is my shot selection, like doing the right thing at the right moment, and not over-hitting the ball," he said.
For international tennis players coming to college in the U.S., there are a multitude of adjustments they have to make. There is being part of a team after years of focusing only on your own game. There is a new city and campus to navigate — Vulpitta can often be spotted cruising the roads around the UGA athletic facilities on his e-bike — and then there are the tennis courts themselves.
Vulpitta grew up playing almost exclusively on red clay courts, which are very different from hard courts or even American green clay courts. The transition to playing exclusively on hard courts in college was also a major adjustment.
"I used to never play on hard, but it's good. A good player needs to play good on all surfaces, so it's good that I'm practicing and playing on hard all the time," he said.
One thing Vulpitta still struggles with is air conditioning, which is ubiquitous in the U.S. but much more rare in homes in Rome and throughout Italy. He lives with teammates Cooper Johnson and Noah Johnston, from Georgia and South Carolina, respectively, and they keep their house much colder than Vulpitta is used to.
"I can't sleep with A.C. Cooper and Noah, they want the room to be freezing, so that's tough for me," he joked. "Sometimes I can't sleep because it's so cold for me, and for them, it's actually hot."
Georgia is hosting the final three rounds of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments starting next Thursday, so with a win over Mississippi State, Georgia would return home to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for the quarterfinals, against either No. 4-seed Virginia or No. 13-seed South Carolina. Georgia's players don't need any extra motivation to do their best against Mississippi State, but the chance to play in the NCAAs in front of their fans would be special, Vulpitta said.
"Playing here, in front of our crowd, at the NCAAs," he said, "it's like magic."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
