Jannik Sinner, number 1 in the tennis world rankings, about his year 2024

The day is gloomy and windy. I meet Jannik Sinner in a hotel in Monte Carlo. He shows up in tennis clothes, perhaps a little intimidated, but with a lot of humor. I tell him he seems taller than the last time we saw him. "Or maybe you've gotten smaller as you've gotten older," he says.

Text:Giovanni Auffredi
Photos:Philipp Gay
Styling:Nik Piras

On his wrist he wears his Rolex GMT-Master II with a black and brown bezel. He takes it off so I can see the inscription on the back celebrating his first Grand Slam victory, which he achieved at the Australian Open in January this year, when he beat Daniil Medvedev in the final. "This is how the most incredible year of my life began," he says.

Sinner is 23 years old. He has been number one in the ATP tennis world rankings since June 10th: the first Italian ever to occupy this position. He is also the first Italian to win two Grand Slam tournaments in the same season, including the Australian Open and the US Open in September. He's still young, but it's been a long road to the top. He grew up in Sesto Pusteria, a village on the border between Italy and Austria. At home, his mother, Siglinde, and his father, Hanspeter, speak German. When Sinner left his family at the age of 14 to attend a tennis academy in Bordighera, near the French border - 700 kilometers from his home - he spoke almost no Italian. Now he's a sensation in Italy - where tennis school enrollments are skyrocketing - and beyond. His distinctive red hair and lanky stature, his focus on mental health rather than winning at all costs, and his fans, the "Carota Boys," who are often spotted on the sidelines, make Sinner the opposite of a tennis robot. It is It's not hard to see why Rolex would want him as an ambassador.

"That fills me with great pride," he says. "It's important to me to work with elegant people who maintain high standards." The results now speak for themselves. In addition to the Australian Open and the US Open, Sinner also triumphed in Rotterdam, Miami, Halle and Cincinnati this year, winning more than 11 million euros in prize money.

And yet it was also a year of great disappointments. In May, a hip injury forced Sinner to cancel the Madrid Open. He also missed the tournament in Rome. He suffered defeats - against Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of Roland Garros and in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon against Daniil Medvedev. He missed the Olympic Games in Paris because of tonsillitis.

Above all, he had to deal with suspicions of doping. On March 10 in Indian Wells, California, and again on March 18, he tested positive for less than a billionth of a gram of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol. Sinner was initially suspended from tennis for two days - April 4 and 5 - before his suspension was overturned on appeal. Then he was banned again, from April 17th to 20th. His defense was simple: the Clostebol, his team had discovered, was contained in an over-the-counter spray that Sinner's physio, Giacomo Nardi, had used to treat a cut on his own finger. When Nardi massaged Sinner, traces of the banned substance were accidentally and unknowingly transferred to him. The ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) accepted this explanation and cleared Sinner of any wrongdoing.

"It was a hard time," he says. "I couldn't talk to anyone about it. I couldn't vent or get help. All the people who knew me and saw me play knew there was something wrong with me. I I spent sleepless nights because even if you are sure of your innocence, you know that these things are complicated. Everyone immediately told the truth, and so I was able to play. But at Wimbledon, on the court, I was white as a sheet I had one after that too Uneasy feeling among people. I walked into the Cincinnati clubhouse and thought, 'How are they looking at me?' I realized who my real friends are."

It seemed that the matter was closed. But in September, WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, announced that it was appealing against Sinner, seeking a disqualification for fault or negligence. This means that Sinner will have to wait another three to six months of uncertainty. But his spirit is strong and the game is not affected. In October he reached the final of the China Open in Beijing.

Esquire: What do you mean?

Jannik Sinner:That the results you see now didn't fall from heaven. They are the result of the hard work we have done over the past two years. I'm the son of a chef and I know that you can't make a good dish in a few minutes. You have to learn, understand, try and try again, then the finished dish will be a success.

What did you learn on the field?

Tactics. Tactics are important because they can be used to influence a game that isn't going well. When Simone Vagnozzi joined my team, he provided me with a lot of in-game information. To be honest, I didn't understand anything. He told me that every now and then you should play a slice, i.e. cut the ball. But I didn't even know how to make a slice. So we made changes. It's a punch that I don't even execute technically correctly. Because I play with both hands. Still, I feel more confident with it now. Simone is good for me, we talk a lot and he doesn't force anything on me. He challenges me and wants me to play more fluidly and with the right distance. You can save a lot of energy by feeling for the ball.

What else can you improve on?

I didn't serve well in the US Open final. Can happen. But there is still room for improvement. I would like to get more than 60 percent of my first serves in the court. I believe that no matter how much you train, you can always have a bad day. But it's important to be able to vary your shots and have confidence when you go to the net.

How would you describe your style to someone who doesn't know anything about tennis?

Half solid, half aggressive. I'm struggling a bit with my defensive game. It's best not to allow myself to be put on the defensive in the first place. My tennis is versatile, but I'm still not really good at the net. A player I've grown a lot from is Medvedev. I never played serve and volley, but he forced me to get better at it to beat him. Against others I have to play more backhand longline. In tennis you grow through your relationship with your opponent. How do I get into my opponent's head? If you find the right answer, the entire game changes.

In all this chaos, how do you find the calm you need to prepare with concentration?

By accepting myself. I have become more mature, I understand myself better. It may sound silly, but getting to know yourself is fundamental. I worked intensively on this with my mental coach Riccardo Ceccarelli. Sometimes I lost because I needed too much strength, then cramps came, I didn't feel good. Once I admitted this to myself, I took small steps forward. It's easier for me in games because I forget mistakes very quickly. In training, however, I am constantly looking for potential for improvement. But that's not right.

Do results change the way you view yourself?

No. Everyone always talks about results. For me they are the result of how you can express yourself on the pitch. When you play at a high level and hope your body holds up, you don't have to question yourself - the results will come. My family understands me, my team understands me, maybe even better than my parents, I find a lot of peace of mind through it. We live in hotels, airplanes, we travel constantly, they make me the boy I am, they understand what I need.

Simple things, I feel best when I can live out my passions. I love driving, it just makes me feel great. Alone, isolated from the world, I turn up the music and listen to the engine. I really charge when I do this.

In 2024, someone new came into your life: Anna Kalinskaya, fellow tennis player and your partner. What has changed as a result?

I don't think anything has changed. Having a girlfriend is something that either gives you a good feeling or a bad feeling. I want it to be something completely natural that comes naturally into my life. I can't afford to change as a player or as a person. That hasn't happened yet, that's why it works.

Can't anything throw you off track?

When you have a personal problem, it's not easy to be on the pitch. When my aunt Margith, who did so much for me as a child, was dying, it hit me very hard.

Do you ever think that you are the most successful Italian tennis player of all time?

You won't believe this, but my goal has never been to be the most successful at anything. I pay more attention to what kind of person I am, the people I surround myself with and how much trust I can give them. I don't believe that you are good when you win and that you are not good when you lose. Each of us has our own talents. Happiness lies in finding a way to express them.

But when you're champion, everything changes, right?

You're under a lot more pressure. But I truly believe that there is no money that can replace health and living with people you love.

A great football player, Alessandro Del Piero, once said: “Losing makes me sick.” What do you say to that?

I'm more of the school that says you either win or learn. I learned a lot from the many defeats against Novak Đoković. This is good for you; it wakes you up. In football, you might play against Ronaldo and realize you need to prepare better next time. But when is the next time? In tennis we have more opportunities to make up for a defeat.

The Italians love you, but they also complain all the time. It seems like a champion constantly has to justify himself. They haven't won a home tournament yet. Everyone now expects a victory at the ATP finals in Turin.

It's true, I've never won in Italy. It hurt me not to play in Rome. It's normal to question athletes you admire. This is a form of cheering. For us it is an incentive. If no one talked about me, that would mean I'm not interesting.

What did you do wrong this year?

Tennis is important, but I haven't spent enough time with the people I love. I have to take time for this because some things go away and never come back.

Digitech:Giuseppe Catesi
Photo assistance:Carlo Carbonetti, Leonardo Galeotti
Grooming:Gianluca Grechi with products from Depot–The Male Tools & Co
Styling assistance:Marco Visconti
Videomaker:Leonardo Bee
Production:Sabrina Bearzotti