Jannik Sinner won his first Masters 1000 titles at the Canadian Open. He had finished runner-up twice at Miami but finally got it right this time in Toronto. Sinner defeated Alex De Minaur to take the title and only dropped a set the whole week. His performance over the past week showed his maturity as a tennis player. Sinner chose to take this path a few years ago and had a choice to choose something more daring.
The 21-year-old was inclined to sports since childhood. However, those sports did not involve holding a racket in your hand. It was more adventurous; Sinner was a champion Skier but shifted to tennis for safety reasons. On being asked about the change in sport, Sinner said “In skiing if you fall, you never know if you break something..If you miss 1 ball you have chances to win. In a ski race, you make 1 mistake you can’t win”. He will surely be happy with the change he took back then.
Jannik Sinner could’ve been a pro skier, a pro football player…
Let’s be grateful he chose tennis. 🦊🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/B2DOL5VMyX
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 13, 2023
The Italian also played football in his childhood days. He focused only on Skiing later; tennis came a bit late in his life. Renowned coach Riccardo Piatti was the one who spotted Sinner and took him under his wing. Piatti’s entry was one of the reasons why Sinner thought of changing his sport from the snow to the courts.
Jannik Sinner takes inspiration from Lindsey Vonn
Sinner, although he is busy on the tour nowadays, still finds time for skiing. He had met his childhood icon, Lindsey Vonn, during a sponsored activity at Flushing Meadows in 2021. The world No.6 was overjoyed to have spent time with the former world and Olympic champion. Sinner had the chance to ski together last year back which Sinner posted on Instagram.
On the meeting with Vonn, Sinner said, “It was nice to meet her and have a few words with her, a champion I watched competing on TV when I was a child.” Sinner got to ski with Vonn and Manfred Moelgg before last year’s Davis Cup. Although he has become a tennis professional, the Canadian Open winner always takes advantage of the opportunity for some adventure.
View this post on Instagram
Sinner will now move on to Cincinnati, where he will play for the third time. He received a bye in the first round and will play the first match on the sixteenth of August. He can enjoy his recent success and maybe go skiing to elevate his happiness.