Jannik Sinner is the World No. 2 in men
Jannik Sinner reveals why he gave up skiing for tennis: “Physically I wasn’t ready to compete, I was always quite skinny”
Jannik Sinner recently confirmed that his first love was skiing, not tennis, and he had to quit the former due to his physical limitations.Sinner has risen through the ranks in men’s tennis in a short period. Since turning professional in 2018, he has clinched 13 tour tiles, including a Grand Slam, and reached as high as the World No. 2 in the ATP singles rankings.
None of this would have started had Sinner stuck to skiing, but fortunately for the tennis world, he didn’t. And he’s instilled a belief among the fans with his mastery that he could be a fitting replacement for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer.The Italian’s transition from skiing to tennis wasn’t simply a choice as he recently admitted that he wasn’t built for the winter sport.
“I was winning a lot when I was young in skiing, and in tennis I never won. And then slowly I started to lose in skiing because physically I was not ready to compete. I was always quite skinny and everything,” Sinner told Vogue.
Another thing that factored into Sinner’s decision to give up skiing for the racket sport was that he believed there was freedom to make mistakes on the court and still win.
“The reason why I chose tennis was, in tennis you can make mistakes. You can lose points but you can still win the match. In skiing, if you make one mistake, one big mistake, you cannot win,” Jannik Sinner added.
The 22-year-old’s belief certainly helped him secure his career’s biggest title thus far. He recovered from a two-set deficit in the final against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open 2024 to become a Grand Slam champion for the first time. He notably won the match 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Jannik Sinner: “When I skied, I had fear to go the downhill races… in tennis, it’s nothing to be scared about”
Jannik Sinner recently admitted to fearing the slopes while skiing in his younger days and added he never dreaded anything on a tennis court.
“When I skied, I had fear to go, you know, the downhill races. When you go very fast and then you jump 20, 30 meters, you know, it’s different. Then I had this fear. And then in my mind in tennis, it’s nothing to be scared about,” he said at the Indian Wells Masters 2024.
Notably, the Italian clinched a national skiing championship at the age of eight and ended as a runner-up four years later.In Jannik Sinner’s tennis journey, the next stop is the Monte-Carlo Masters. He has entered the draw as the second-seed behind Novak Djokovic and already advanced to the second round courtesy of a bye in the first.