Fabio Fognini Channels MJ in Smooth Criminal Performance

See Fabio Fognini rocks the house on Dancing with the Stars.

By Richard Pagliaro
12/16/2025

By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport

Fabio Fognini bid farewell to tennis after a five-set thriller vs. Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

Showing fine footwork, Fognini channeled his inner Michael Jackson whirling in a Smooth Criminal performance.

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Watch Fognini and professional dancer Giada Lini rock the dance floor to Smooth Criminal on RAI’s Italian Dancing with the Stars.

A frisky Fognini starts the show striking an MJ pose then shows the moves that made him a former world No. 9.

Fans in attendance saluted Fognini and Lini with a standing ovation.

Fognini is one of several former Top 10 players to appear on various versions of Dancing with the Stars. Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles have also starred on the dance floor in past seasons:

Of course, some stars strut their stuff on court:

Richard Pagliaro. Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.

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