Jannik Sinner: I was afraid when I went skiing. I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of in tennis.
After defeating Jan-Lennard Struff in the Round of 32 at Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner talked about a specific anxiety he had when he was a skier.
At the age of three, Sinner began to play tennis and go skiing. He developed into one of the top junior skiers in Italy over time, winning a national championship at the age of eight. He was a skilled skier, but in the end, he decided to play tennis professionally because he wanted to compete in a sport where he could play against a rival directly.
The Italian’s career has taken off in the last few years, as he has become a top-10 player and proven that he can compete with and defeat the best in the second half of the 2023 season. Sinner’s most noteworthy accomplishment was his incredible victory over Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles final at the Australian Open.
After winning the Australian Open, Sinner has triumphed at the Rotterdam Open as well. Because of his victory in Rotterdam and Medvedev’s withdrawal, he moved up into the top 3 of the ATP Tour rankings.
Unbeaten this season, the Italians eliminated Jan-Lennard Struff from the Indian Wells Masters with yet another easy victory. He talked briefly about the dread he faced during downhill skiing races after the match.
I was afraid to go skiing—you know, the races downhill. It’s not the same as when you run at a high speed and then jump twenty or thirty meters. Then this fear struck me. And then, I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of in tennis, do you? Sinner stated this at a news briefing.
