Adriano Panatta defeated Björn Borg at Roland Garros when no one else could, won the 1976 French Open, and led Italy to its only Davis Cup title. Then he walked away from tennis and spent the next 25 years racing offshore powerboats.

From Clay Courts to Open Water

Panatta retired from professional tennis in 1983 at age 33, having reached world No. 4 and established himself as one of Italy’s greatest sporting figures. His transition to offshore powerboat racing came naturally. The family house in Viareggio, which he described as “the capital of offshore in the world,” meant the sport was never far from his life.

He competed in the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship as throttle man. Where his tennis career had been built on serve-and-volley precision, his offshore racing relied on split-second adjustments at speeds exceeding 150 kilometres per hour.

The Championship That Never Was

The 1990 season brought Panatta and co-driver Antonio Gioffredi to the brink of a Class 1 world championship. As the Monaco round approached in October, they were positioned to claim the title.

On the morning of October 3, defending champion Stefano Casiraghi attended the briefing looking cheerful and making plans for the future. He wanted a new boat, one like Panatta’s.

Casiraghi never got that boat. During the race off Monaco, his 42-foot catamaran Pinot di Pinot flipped while travelling at approximately 150 kilometres per hour. The boat lacked a full canopy. Casiraghi, 30 years old and husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, was killed. His co-pilot Patrice Innocenti survived.

The championship was cancelled. The title Panatta and Gioffredi had been positioned to win was revoked. The 1990 Class 1 world championship would have no winner.

Endurance and Speed

Panatta continued racing through the 1990s and into the 2000s. In 2004, his team won a world championship. He also held two speed world records during his offshore career.

The Venice-Monte Carlo run became one of his endurance challenges. The 1,805-kilometre route tested both boat and crew across some of offshore racing’s most demanding waters. He attempted the record at least twice, separated by six years. During one attempt aboard Sonepar, mechanical failure forced a rescue off Santa Maria di Leuca after navigating at speeds exceeding 60 knots.

A Quarter-Century Career

Panatta’s commitment to offshore racing outlasted his tennis career by eight years. While he became famous for being the only man to defeat Borg at the French Open, he spent more years racing boats than hitting forehands.

The 1990 championship that was cancelled in tragedy remains one of offshore racing’s most poignant what-ifs. Casiraghi’s death prompted safety changes that have protected countless drivers since. Panatta kept racing, eventually claiming that world championship in 2004 that had eluded him 14 years earlier.