Borg or Agassi? Matteo Rizzo imitates tennis player in wild figure skating routine - 'What a personality!'

Published 26/03/2023 at 12:04 GMT

Fans were not expecting to see a top figure skater pretend to be a tennis player for an entire routine at the gala in Saitama, but that is exactly what Italy's Matteo Rizzo delivered in a wonderfully quirky performance. Rizzo delighted the fans with his amusing routine as he impersonated many of the idiosyncrasies that are seen from tennis players on the court during a match.

Watch hilarious figure skating routine as Rizzo impersonates tennis player

Italian figure skater Matteo Rizzo delighted the fans at the gala in Saitama with an entertaining routine that saw him impersonate a tennis player throughout.

Rizzo began the performance with a tracksuit top on before taking it off midway through, to be left in full tennis whites that would have looked very at home at Wimbledon.

The 24-year-old from Rome did not hold back as he pretended to play shots with a tiny racquet, had a brief drinks break, attempted to play out an entire imaginary point (which he won, obviously), and even signed the camera lens as tennis players are so fond of doing at the end of matches.

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The big question was whether he was imitating Bjorn Borg or Andre Agassi, with his attire containing hints of both tennis legends.

There were some movements that would not have gone down so well at Wimbledon though, as he slid on his knees to celebrate winning one pretend point while careering around the ice with some wild groundstrokes.

Dancing to the song 'Hello' by Martin Solveig and Dragonette, Rizzo relished the opportunity to entertain the fans with his highly creative and amusing routine.

"Dressed to kill! This should be fun," noted Chris Howarth, on commentary for Eurosport, before the routine started.

After it had finished, Howarth reflected: "He is great, isn't he? What a personality! He always comes up with something a little bit different."

It certainly was a routine worth watching, and Rizzo quite rightly received a huge ovation from the fans as he brought it to a close by firing balls into the stands from a bag.