Jannik Sinner: from junior ski champ to a member of tennis’s elite

As a boy, Jannik Sinner dreamt of emulating his idol Bode Miller on the ski slopes. Now, the former junior ski champion from Italy has swapped his HEAD skis for a HEAD tennis racquet and is firmly established as a member of the top 10 in men’s tennis.

Sinner, who grew up in Sexten, a wintersports resort in South Tyrol, the German-speaking autonomous region on the Italian-Austrian border, was a fast riser up the ATP rankings. He  finished 2019 as the youngest player inside the top 80 since Rafael Nadal in 2003 by winning three events on the lower-tier Challenger Tour and capping his remarkable year by clinching the Next Gen Finals in Milan in November. Little wonder he was voted ATP Newcomer of the Year.

John McEnroe, a seven-time major singles winner, was prompted to describe Sinner as ‘one of the most talented kids I’ve seen in 10 years,’ adding, ‘His potential is to win numerous Grand Slams.’Sinner came very close to proving McEnroe right as a 21-year-old at the 2022 US Open. With Novak Djokovic absent due to visa restrictions, the young generation in men’s tennis saw their chance. And when Sinner had match point in his quarter-final against the top seed Carlos Alcaraz, he seemed on his way to his first major. But Alcaraz saved it, beat Sinner for the first time, and went on to claim the title.

The 1.88 metres (6ft 2in) tall Italian honed his attacking game style, built around a huge serve, big forehand and strong movement, at the academy of the veteran Italian tennis coach Riccardo Piatti. Piatti coached Sinner until the end of 2022, when he enlisted the services of the Australian coach, Darren Cahill.

Although Sinner was introduced to tennis by his father, Johann, at the age of seven, he was a champion skier in Italy from the ages of 8 to 12. But being a top skier came with huge physical and mental challenges.

‘The sport is quite dangerous,’ said Sinner. ‘When you ski, you can hurt yourself. You can be very scared. In tennis you know that nothing can happen. That was the decision I made, that I said “No” to skiing and decided to play tennis.’

A meeting with Piatti when he was just 13 years old would change his life forever. In order to advance his tennis career, Sinner took a brave decision: he decided to leave his family and friends in his hometown in the mountains to move to the Piatti Tennis Centre in Bordighera, on Italy’s Ligurian coast.

‘Especially the first week was hard, but later it was OK,’ said Sinner about that time. ‘It was more difficult for my parents, I think, because letting your son go, living alone at 13 or 14 years old was not easy for them.’

But Piatti, who has guided the likes of Ivan Ljubicic and Maria Sharapova, treated Sinner like one of his own children, making sure the teenager felt at home at his academy without his parents and brother.

Chris Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam singles winner, likened Sinner’s poise on the tennis court to that of a young Federer and Nadal. ‘The maturity that he has has really propelled him at this point, and he plays like he belongs on the big stage,’ Evert said on ESPN 2019.

‘He doesn't have any fear. I love the demeanour that he has on the court, aside from his game. And I saw that with Roger Federer and Nadal, too, at a young age, with the current champions, and I see a familiarity there,’ Evert said.

 ‘What I like about him is that he’s almost got the same speed of shot on forehand and backhand,’ Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam singles champion, said of the young Italian. ‘So I think we’ll see so much more from him. He’s an exciting guy and super sweet kid, which I always love to see.’

If 2021 was impressive for Sinner’s four tour-level titles, he took a further massive step in 2023 when he won his first Masters-1000 event, taking the title on the hard courts of Toronto. But he is a titleist on clay and has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, testifying to his ability to play on all surfaces.

With his shock of red hair, Jannik Sinner is one of the most recognisable players on the tour. And mindful of his striking appearance, he helped to raise money to fund medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic by donating €10 for every photo he received of a pizza resembling himself or any other Italian celebrity.

Sinner endorses the HEAD Speed range of racquets.

WORDS BY DANIELLE ROSSINGH