"My parents always came home and smiled" - When Jannik Sinner opened up about how his family helped foster his strong mentality on the tennis court
World No.1 Jannik Sinner has always attributed much of his success to his parents. In an interview with the Financial Times in April this year, Sinner opened up on the role his parents played in fostering an environment conducive to his sporting pursuits.
The reigning Australian Open champion is currently vying for his second Grand Slam title by setting up a clash with Jack Draper in the semifinals of the 2024 US Open. This will be his fourth-ever Major semifinal and his first at Flushing Meadows.
Following his defeat to longtime rival and friend, Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal of Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner spoke about his shift in mindset following the loss. (via FT):
"At that point, I understood that obviously results matter, but what really matters is trying to work hard, waking up and going to work and doing it with a smile," he said.
The Italian said how his parents played a big role in shaping this mentality and how they taught him the importance of having fun and a good work ethic.
"My parents always came home and smiled. So that’s what they gave me: a really positive mindset with a really good work ethic," Sinner added.
Sinner has come into the 2024 US Open on the back of a third ATP Masters 1000 title at Cincinnati. After winning the Miami Open this year, Sinner had talked about having to leave his home at an early age to train under Riccardo Piatti, mentioning that he missed spending quality time with his family, and wanted to make up for the lost time in the near future.
Jannik Sinner hoped for "all children to have parents like his"
Following his Australian Open victory, Sinner hoped that "all children could have parents like his." He recounted how, as a teenager, he used to come back after a loss and call his parents to explain what went wrong, but they would simply tell him to talk about it later as they were working. He said (via the aforementioned source):
"I went to a couple of tournaments when I was younger – 16 or 17 – and I lost. And afterwards I called my parents and I wanted to explain what happened. And they said, 'Yeah, OK, but we have to talk later because we have to work now, OK?'" Sinner said.
At the time of the interview, he had won three titles in 2024 and was the second-highest-ranked player in the world. He has since climbed up the ranks and now sits at the sport's zenith as the World No. 1 in Men's singles following Novak Djokovic's withdrawal from Roland Garros.
Now on the cusp of a second Grand Slam final, the 23-year-old will look to go all the way and do the hard court Major double in 2024. The World No. 1 is two victories away from a maiden US Open title.