With a steely mindset and all-surface game, Jannik Sinner is one of tennis’ most formidable new-era champions, redefining what it means to rise with quiet determination and relentless consistency.
By Nichola Marie
“This pressure, you have to take it in a positive way. You have to be kind with the pressure. You have to make friendship. If you hate this pressure, it’s the wrong sport for you, no?” – Jannik Sinner, 2024
“Pressure is a privilege to have. I really like the pressure, because I think if you don’t feel pressure, it means that you don’t care about what you’re doing, and I feel privileged to be in the position where I am… this is exactly the motivation why I keep working hard.”– Jannik Sinner, 2025
These words by the reigning Wimbledon men’s singles champ are a window into the mind of the 6-foot 3-inch tall 23-year-old who has stayed unfazed despite the challenges, including a three-month dopingrelated suspension and a loss in the French Open finals, and remains equally rooted and humble through the tsunami of success his career has witnessed.
A defining force in the post–Big Three era, staking his claim among the sport’s elite, in 2024, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and then the U.S. Open, and rose to World No. 1. The following year, he defended his Australian crown and claimed Wimbledon, overcoming rival Carlos Alcaraz in a much-anticipated final.
Beneath the floppy orange curls and the friendliness, Sinner has more than proved himself capable in the psychologically demanding sport of singles tennis, maintaining remarkable composure and cool even during long tense matches. The difference that sets apart 1% of athletes from everyone else is how much they’re willing to struggle, he believes. “I always go on a practice court with a purpose, and I believe that the mindset you start to build in practice sessions, when you struggle, when you have pain, when you at times don’t want to practice, but you still go and you still do everything possible to make it a good day.” The bottom line: “If you cannot do it in practice sessions, then you cannot do it in the real matches. So, I think this is one of the biggest parts.” It’s a part that he has well-assimilated. He has, after all, lost only 10 matches in the past two years, displaying incredible consistency and ability to dominate men’s tennis.
With his definitive maiden win over his fiercest rival Carlos Alcaraz at Centre Court of the All England Club, Sinner has become the first Italian man to win the prestigious title. What’s more, by clinching the crown, he has joined the elite club of greats comprising Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. At the top of the ATP rankings with 12,030 ATP points, he has not only reached a career-high but is only the fifth player since 1990 to cross the 12,000-point mark, other than the Big Four.
Made For Success
And to think that it wasn’t tennis but skiing that was his first love! Born on August 16, 2001 in San Candido, Italy, he grew up in a German-speaking family in the northernmost part of the country, not far from the Austrian border, in a high mountainous region with a mixed Italian and German population. Working in the local hospitality industry, his parents Johann and Siglinde Sinner catered to vacationing skiers and hikers.
Sinner started skiing from the age of three. He was barely eight when he won a championship in giant slalom, becoming a national runner-up at the age of 12. While he had also taken up tennis at age seven, he was also interested in football. At the age of 13, he decided to focus on tennis alone, leaving home to live and train at a tennis academy in Bordighera, near Monaco.
Later, he would explain his decision to switch, saying, “I was lucky enough to try many sports, so I understood in early ages what I really love to do, and in skiing, it’s difficult because you make one mistake, you cannot win the race, it’s only one-and-a-half minutes just going down as fast as you can.”
Rising Star
Sinner’s initial journey in tennis followed a relatively unusual path. Unlike many young players who rise through the ranks via high-profile junior Grand Slams, he took a quieter route, choosing to bypass the spotlight in favour of lower-tier tournaments. When he debuted on the ATP Tour in 2018, he was largely unknown, but not for long.
By his second season, Sinner had already made waves, winning three titles and breaking into the top 100 by the end of 2019. His breakout moment on the Grand Slam stage came the following year, when he reached the quarterfinals at the French Open, bowing out to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
In 2021, he claimed four ATP titles and made it to the round of 16 at both Roland Garros and the U.S. Open. That same year, he became the youngest finalist at a Masters 1000 tournament since Nadal in 2005, with a strong showing in Miami.
Seeking to evolve beyond his groundstroke-heavy game, Sinner overhauled his coaching and fitness team in 2022, a move aimed at building both variety and strength. The payoff was immediate: He reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, taking both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz to five sets before narrowly losing to the eventual champions.
Becoming No. 1
By 2023, he had transitioned from promising talent to serious contender. He added four more titles to his name and made the semifinals at Wimbledon. But it was the season’s final stretch that truly marked his arrival. At the ATP Finals in Turin, he defeated Djokovic for the first time after three previous losses. Just weeks later, he led Italy to its first Davis Cup title since 1976, again toppling Djokovic en route, a statement win that underlined his growing stature in the sport.
Riding high on his late-2023 surge, Sinner opened 2024 with the kind of performance that signals a new era. In January, he reached his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open and delivered a comeback for the ages. After dropping the first two sets to Daniil Medvedev, Sinner clawed his way back with precision and poise, eventually sealing a fiveset triumph: 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3. With that win, he became only the third Italian man in history to capture a major title.
He followed it up with a title run at the Miami Open in March, along with a string of deep finishes across tournaments, further cementing his consistency and dominance. On June 10, he was officially crowned the World’s No. 1 men’s singles player, a first for an Italian in the Open Era.
Though slated to represent Italy in both singles and doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Sinner had to withdraw due to illness, putting his Olympic dreams on hold, for now.
Disciplinary Pause
In August 2024, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the body responsible for anti-doping efforts in professional tennis, revealed that Sinner had twice tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, following routine blood tests conducted in March. Sinner attributed the result to accidental exposure via a member of his fitness team — an explanation the ITIA ultimately accepted. He was cleared of intentional wrongdoing, though the delayed disclosure of both the investigation and the verdict stirred controversy across the tennis world. Critics questioned the transparency of the process, and some players alleged that Sinner had received lenient treatment due to his growing prominence in the sport. In the wake of the incident, Sinner dismissed two staff members and maintained that the situation stemmed from an unintentional mistake.
Despite the media storm, Sinner returned to competition at the U.S. Open, where he maintained a calm composure amid ongoing questions about the case. His performance spoke louder than the headlines — he dropped just two sets throughout the tournament and secured his second Grand Slam title of the year. The win placed him in rare company: Only the third male player in the Open Era to claim his first two major titles within the same calendar year.
Controversy resurfaced weeks later when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced it was appealing the ITIA’s ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking a suspension of up to two years. The case remained unresolved as Sinner entered the 2025 season.
Yet his momentum showed no signs of slowing. At the 2025 Australian Open, Sinner clinched his third major title with a commanding win over Alexander Zverev in the final. The following month, a settlement was reached with WADA: Sinner accepted a three-month suspension, retroactively served, and WADA acknowledged that he had not acted with intent, nor had clostebol provided any performance-enhancing advantage.
After serving his ban, Sinner returned to form at the French Open, reaching the final and leading Carlos Alcaraz by two sets before falling in a fifth set tie-break. Their rivalry resumed at Wimbledon, where this time, Sinner emerged victorious, defeating Alcaraz in four sets to claim his fourth Grand Slam title, a triumph that marked both a sporting and reputational comeback.
Even as his journey continues to unfold, Sinner demonstrates that greatness can rise without noise – just results.
Did You Know…?
• Sinner’s loyal fan group, the Carota Boys, are a spirited band of Italian friends who cheer him on dressed head-to-toe as carrots. Their quirky tribute was inspired by Sinner’s trademark red hair and a now-iconic moment when he casually munched on a carrot during a match in Vienna.
• After winning his first Wimbledon title, Sinner began his speech by thanking Carlos Alcaraz, calling him a tough opponent and a great friend off the court. Their growing rivalry has defined the sport’s new era, with the duo now claiming seven consecutive Grand Slam titles between them. This Wimbledon final marked Sinner’s first win over Alcaraz in a major final, following a dramatic loss to him at Roland Garros weeks earlier. They’re the first pair since Federer and Nadal in 2008 to contest both the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same year.
Sinner’s Grand Slam Titles:
Australian Open: 2 (2024, 2025)
U.S. Open: 1 (2024)
Wimbledon: 1 (2025)
