Jannik Sinner has generated intense curiosity and interest among tennis fans given his unique pathway and playing style.
Already an ATP top-40 player and Grand Slam quarterfinalist, yet still a teenager, the Italian’s meteoric rise has him on track for superstardom.
On court
Less than three years ago Sinner was unranked, and ended 2018 ranked No.763. Incredibly, 11 months later, he cracked the top 100.
His rapid improvement began in February 2019 when he won 16 consecutive matches to collect three straight titles. He ended the year with 62 match wins; highlights included qualifying for the US Open, his first ATP semifinal in Antwerp, and back-to-back titles at the ATP Next Gen Finals and the Ortisei Challenger.
After a slow start to 2020 he caught fire when tennis returned, beating sixth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the third round in Rome then world No.7 Alexander Zverev for a place in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
He became the first debutant to reach the last eight in Paris since Rafael Nadal – the player who ended his run – in 2005.
Sinner capped his season in style with his first ATP title in Sofia and top-40 debut.
Notable stat
Age-related milestones have flowed for Sinner, who is the youngest ATP title-winner since Kei Nishikori in 2008 and youngest Roland Garros quarterfinalist since Novak Djokovic in 2006.
X-factor
The 19-year-old is compelling because there are few things conventional about his story.
He was an elite skier as a child and only turned his attention full-time to tennis when he was 13, unusually late for an aspiring pro.
Despite being Italian, German is his first language; he grew up in a town on the Austrian border in the Italian province of South Tyrol, a predominantly German-speaking region.
Even the manner in which he plays is slightly unconventional, given the modern template for stroke production.
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Rather than slugging heavy topspin shots from behind the baseline, Sinner plays up the court and cracks relatively flat groundstrokes with incredible timing, generating power inconsistent with his slight frame.
“He’s ridiculous. For a set-and-a-half he completely outplayed me,” a relieved Alex Bolt said after subduing the then-17-year-old in a memorable 2019 Wimbledon qualifying match.
“If he can just keep that level for longer periods of time he’s going to be a very good player.”
Off court
Sponsors have shown great interest in the 2019 ATP Newcomer of the Year; Sinner has partnerships with Nike, Rolex, Lavazza and Alfa Romeo among his portfolio.
He used his time off during the COVID-19 pandemic productively, developing the #SinnerPizzaChallenge where he encouraged fans to upload pictures to social media of home-made pizzas resembling himself or other Italian figures, and donating 10 Euros for each image towards vital medical supplies in Italy.
He made another big donation to humanitarian organisation Cesvi, helping fund medical supplies for the particularly hard-hit region of Bergamo.
He supports AC Milan fan, lives in Monte Carlo and speaks Italian and English in addition to German.
Experts are saying…
“He’s one of the most talented kids I’ve seen in 10 years. He’s going to be hunted a little bit … But I suspect in a few years you’re going to see him in the top 10 of the game.”
- John McEnroe
“(Sinner) definitely possesses a game that is powerful and is with a lot of quality, and you can say he has the potential to be a top player of the world.”
- Novak Djokovic
“He has an amazing potential, he move the hand very quick and he's able to produce amazing shots.”
- Rafael Nadal
He said…
Sinner on others’ top-10 predictions for him: “I'm a person who looks not in the future and not in the past, always in the present.”