Overview

• The crash occurred early Sunday near the Bolzano Sud exit when Tappeiner drove against traffic on the A22 and collided head-on with a family’s vehicle.
• Tappeiner, 24, was a former U12 rival of world number one Jannik Sinner and notably beat him in a 2014 Bressanone tournament.
• He worked as an instructor at the TC Bolzano tennis school and competed in Serie B1 for the club’s senior team.
• Police investigators are reconstructing the collision’s dynamics to determine what led him to enter the highway in the wrong direction.
• Peers and coaches remember Tappeiner for his relentless fighting spirit on court and his warm, ironic sense of humor off it.