Angelo and Ettore Rossetti, 54, have been playing racquet sports their whole life, but the twins have been putting their own spin on the game — setting world records. Their most recent? The longest consecutive pickleball volley rally, clocking in at 10,532 hits in exactly two hours on Aug. 17.
The act of a pickleball volley rally is when two players, standing 14-feet away, consecutively pass the ball to each other without letting it bounce.
The brothers aren’t just doing it for the glory, either. They have raised over $250,000 for charities like Save the Children since 2008.
Save the Children is a nonprofit working towards giving children a healthy start in life. Ettore, the head advisor for emerging technology, innovation and partnerships at Save the Children has been working at the charity for 20 years.
“One in five children in the U.S. are struggling to eat and are food insecure,” Ettore said. “But no one is seemingly talking about it, right? One of our reasons why we did it was so we can elevate the issue.”
The duo’s journey to the Guinness World Records began at age 5, when every Sunday they would go to their grandfather’s house who had a table tennis set in his basement. Even though they were too short to reach, the brothers have been hooked ever since.
“That’s where we developed our joy of competing with and against each other and our hand eye coordination,” Angelo said. “You have really work at it. And that’s what we did every Sunday for many, many years.”
Hundreds of table tennis games between the brothers ultimately led to them joining the tennis team at Hamden High School.
The brothers broke their first world record in 2008 for their mentor, Scott Wilson, who had passed away from ALS, where they rallied a tennis ball for 14 hours and 31 minutes.
The journey to finally breaking their first world record wasn’t easy. In 2007, the brothers attempted twice but failed both times.
From that point on, Angelo made a promise to himself that he hasn’t broken to this day.
“The second attempt, we finished at 5:09 a.m. in Milford, Connecticut, and we set the U.S. record for the longest tennis rally, 19,490 consecutive shots. But unfortunately, we failed to set the world record and I remember falling asleep at 5:09 a.m., and hitting the ball into the top of the net because I misjudged the bounce,” Angelo said. “I made a pact to myself that I wasn’t going to miss again. And now fast forward, four world records in a row and over 80,000 shots I have not made a mistake.”
Fast forward to 2024, the brothers are still breaking records and the attempts aren’t getting any easier. This most recent world record was the brother’s toughest yet — on multiple fronts.
The brother’s mother, Angelina, passed away in 2022 suddenly from pancreatic cancer. Soon after, Angelo submitted the application to break their fourth world record in their mother’s memory.
The preparation for setting the longest pickleball volley rally started back in January and it’s been at the top of Angelo’s mind ever since.
“We had been practicing for a few months,” Angelo said. “Once I submitted the application in January, the world record was on my mind every day, every waking hour, and even when I would sleep, and I would imagine setting the record.”
In recent years, pickleball has seemingly exploded into our reality. Since 2021, the game has seen an incredible growth of 223.5%, making it the fastest-growing sport in the United States for three years in a row, according to Pickleheads.
But why has pickleball become so popular? Some consider it the ultimate racquet sport – a combination of the best elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong.
With few rules and simple concepts, pickleball is easy to learn. The sport often incorporates an open-play style that allows players to compete against anyone they’d like. Most importantly, pickleball is a sport for everyone. Whether one is seven or 77 – they can pick up a paddle.
The social atmosphere of the sport is unique in itself. Because of pickleball’s accessibility and simplicity, it has allowed families to bond and friendships to form. Pickleball is a friendly sport where good sportsmanship typically holds more importance than winning the match.
According to the Association of Pickleball Professionals, the sport continues to grow, with more than 36.5 million players as of 2024. Anyone can play pickleball, but it takes some serious skill and dedication at the competitive level.
That’s what worried Angelo the most.
“If you don’t make square contact, the ball does not go forward,” Angelo said. “There’s no taking any shots off from focus.”
Over the course of two hours, the Rossetti brothers’ minds went blank. Any rogue thought could lead to overthinking the next shot.
“It is really hard not to think, not to have a conscious thought, is really hard, but that’s what you need to do,” Ettore said. “I paraphrased Bruce Lee, who has a famous quote saying, ‘Be water, my friend.’”
So for those two hours, their minds were empty, except for Zendeya’s “Replay.”
“Not only were we twins in sync, but we were in sync with the music, and that is part of the secret of success,” Ettore said.
As the clock hit two hours and the brothers hit their 10,532 consecutive volley rally they embraced with heavy emotion, knowing that not only did they do it for children in need, but their mother, too.
“If you have purpose, nothing else matters. If you don’t have purpose, nothing else matters, and we had the right purpose to honor our mom, raise money for Save the Children and inspire people in the process,” Angelo said.
What’s next for the Rossettis?
On Aug. 16, 2025, the brothers are hosting an event where people will have the chance to break the record themselves at Pickleball America in Stamford, Connecticut.
Those interested in donating can do so at rallyforcharity.org/donate.