National Siblings Day: meet the twins that rally together to break world records
As the world celebrates National Siblings Day (10 April), GWR turns the spotlight on Angelo and Ettore Rossetti – twins from Connecticut, USA, who have been racking up racquet-sport records together for almost two decades.
The Rossetti brothers have had a passion for any sports involving a bat and ball ever since they were young children. Their first encounter was at the age of five, playing table tennis in their grandparents’ basement every Sunday after church.
“We were too short to reach the table, so our grandfather cut parts of the legs off and stood us on milk crates so we could reach it! We have very fond memories of playing hundreds and hundreds of games against each other.”
As they grew older, what started as a weekend hobby evolved into more competitive play. Both made it into the school tennis team as juniors, and between them Angelo and Ettore later played badminton, tennis, racquetball and table tennis for their residence hall team at college.
In the years since, they've accrued a sizeable haul of medals playing doubles tennis together, where they "became the #1 ranked men’s open doubles team in New England".
They’ve also dabbled in platform tennis, padel and – most recently – pickleball, which is their latest go-to favourite in which they regularly now compete in senior professional tournaments on the PPA Tour.
It’s hardly surprising, then, that when the notion of attempting to break a world record arose in the mid-2000s, there was never much doubt what the record would revolve around.
As children growing up, we collected the Guinness World Records book and would buy it from the school book fair each year. We dreamed that one day we would someday be in the book but we did not know when or how or for what until we were adults – Angelo and Ettore Rossetti
The impetus for attempting a world record can come from many places – in the case of the twins, it was their way of commemorating a dearly departed friend:
“When our tennis mentor, colleague and friend Scott Wilson passed away from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease) at the untimely age of 42, we discovered our reason and inspired our purpose. We dedicated our very first record in 2007 to honour him.”
Their debut record attempt – for the longest tennis rally – did not turn out to be successful, although they did break the then-US record. Still determined they could claim the world title, however, they gave it another shot the following year. This time, the result went their way, with an unbroken rally of 25,944 strokes across a play time of 14-and-a-half hours on 9 August 2008.
They donated the now-fuzzless tennis ball used during that epic tennis marathon to the International Tennis Hall of Fame where it remains on display to this day.
The record has only been broken twice in the last 15-plus years, proving how difficult it is. The current mark to beat has now soared to 51,283 strokes, set by Italian players Simone Frediani and Daniele Pecci in Grosseto, Italy, on 11 June 2017.
Once the Rossettis had got a taste for record-breaking rallying glory in 2008, they weren’t ready to hang up their racquets. In the ensuing years, they’ve gone on to claim several more records. Their current titles are:
- Longest tennis volley rally: 30,576, on 8 August 2015
- Longest pickleball rally: 16,046, on 10 October 2021
- Longest pickleball volley rally: 10,532, on 17 August 2024
- Most consecutive pickleball volleys in one minute: 113, on 6 December 2025.
Asked which of their records they found the most difficult, the twins replied: “The most challenging are always the longest endurance rallies. When you’re on court for many hours, fatigue, dehydration, concentration and physical discomfort all become factors. At that point the challenge becomes more mental than physical.
“In terms of willpower, mental stamina and physical fatigue, our first record for the longest tennis rally was the most challenging. Nearly 15 hours is most of the waking day for most people. Imagine working a double shift at your job while the whole time rallying the same tennis ball in play without a mistake or bio, food or water breaks.
“In terms of level of technical skill, the longest pickleball volley rally was the most challenging. To keep a plastic pickleball in flight for two hours while being 14 ft [4.3 m] apart and contacting the ball on a paddle surface that is about half the size of a tennis racquet is extremely difficult if not impossible but we proved it is ‘twinpossible!’”
Being siblings – and especially twins – means we’ve spent a lifetime communicating and competing together. There’s a level of understanding and connection that makes coordination and teamwork feel very natural – Angelo and Ettore Rossetti
Promoting worthy causes and fundraising – particularly for the charity Save The Children – have gone hand in hand with the brothers’ record-breaking journey since the outset. Does this dimension pile on additional pressure to an already highly tense situation as the stroke count steadily rises?
“It definitely adds pressure, but it’s the kind of pressure that motivates you," they told GWR. "When you’re doing it for a greater purpose – especially to honour someone or raise money for a meaningful cause – it gives you strength when things get difficult.
“During long rallies when fatigue sets in, remembering why you started can be the extra motivation you need to keep going.”
Their longest pickleball volley rally came with an added personal incentive to succeed because, as well as for charity, they were also doing the record in memory of their mother, Angelina, who had passed away in 2022. Indeed they even attached a photo of her to the net during the attempt so her presence was front and centre throughout – it clearly paid off!
So are there pros and cons to taking on a world record with your sibling? The Rossettis believe the positives definitely outweigh the negatives:
“One of the biggest advantages is trust. We’ve played together our entire lives, so we know each other’s tendencies, rhythms and body language.
“A challenge can be that emotions sometimes run deeper with family, but ultimately the shared history makes the partnership stronger.”
With so much record-breaking success achieved as a duo, what guidance can the Rossetti twins offer to others who might be considering taking on a record with their brothers and sisters?
“Our advice would be to enjoy the journey together. Preparing for a record attempt can be just as meaningful as the record itself.
“Support each other, stay patient, and remember that the experience and memories you create together will last a lifetime. You need to overcome the fear of failure and, if you fail, never blame yourself or your sibling. It is more important to try.
“True success is intrinsic to the attempt and in the effort not in the outcome. Don’t worry if you fail on your first attempt.”
More superlative siblings
Meet a few more record holders that have made GWR history working in tandem with their closest kin...
Brothers Eamonn and Jason Hickson of County Kerry, Ireland, completed the most rugby conversions in three minutes by a pair (30) on 9 December 2018. They’re not the only members of their family to get in on the record-breaking act. The following year, their sister Sandra completed the most lunges in one minute (female): a thigh-busting 80 lunges!
The greatest height difference in identical twins is 38 cm (1 ft 3 in), separating Sienna “Sinny” and Sierra Bernal (both USA) when measured in Tomball, Texas, USA, in 2018, at 20 years old. Sinny stood 132 cm (4 ft 4 in) while Sierra was 170 cm (5 ft 7 in). The “discordant” sisters were born on 22 December 1998, and Sinny’s diminutive stature is the result of a form of primordial dwarfism so uncommon that it isn’t yet formally classified.
The most sisters to climb Everest simultaneously is three, on 12 May 2021, when Nima Jangmu Sherpa, Tshering Namgya Sherpa and Dawa Futi Sherpa (all Nepal) successfully summitted the world’s highest mountain, at 8,848.8 m (29,031 ft) above sea level.
The largest collection of dog-related items is 5,025 as of 15 March 2025, collectively owned by Rosa, Marià, Nuri, Enric, Miquel and Teresa Gabarró from Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain. The Gabarró siblings were bequeathed the collection – which comprises figurines, walking sticks, soft toys and pin badges among other canine-themed ephemera – by their late parents, Marià Gabarró Grau and Rosa Galobardes Galvez.
Anna (UK/USA) and Cameron McLean (UK) are the first brother/sister team to row across an ocean. “The Seablings” rowed their vessel Lily from east to west across the Atlantic, from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua, between 12 December 2019 and 25 January 2020. Across the 43-day voyage, they covered a distance of 2,554 nautical miles (4,730 km; 2,939 mi).
Read more stories about sporty record breakers in our Sports and Fitness section.