Jannik Sinner believes tennis is 70% mental, 20% physical, & just 10% about shots
Jannik Sinner recently talked about the significance of the various aspects in tennis, stressing that a player's 'head' is by far the most crucial. Sinner also claimed that tennis is the most important thing in his life after family and friends.
The 19-year-old Sinner has been the biggest breakout star in men's tennis over the past two seasons. He has climbed over 500 spots in the last 24 months, landing on his current ranking of No. 37. The Italian was named ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2019 and nominated for the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award in 2020, which was won by Andrey Rublev..
Besides his incredible technical and physical skills, Jannik Sinner is also known to be one of the mentally toughest youngsters on the men's tour. And in a recent interview with Sky, the 19-year-old assigned specific weights to the mental and physical elements of the game.
"Considering the percentages in tennis, the head also counts for 70%, it counts more than everything else," Sinner said. "Then for 20% there is the body, the shots instead for 10%."
The young Italian also spoke about the place of tennis in his life, and about the importance of having goals.
"Tennis is the most important thing in my life after family and friends," Jannik Sinner said. "The main element is always the passion for sport. The desire to set a goal every day, right from when you wake up, taking into account the difficult moments is fundamental. If you really like the sport you do, you can overcome any hard times."
As a child it bothered me that I won so much in skiing and never in tennis: Jannik Sinner
As a young child, Jannik Sinner was adept at playing different sports. He was equally proficient in both skiing and tennis, but decided to pursue the latter as a full-time career.
Sinner gave a background about his initial foray into the sport, and explained why he decided to choose tennis over skiing.
"As a child, I couldn't throw the ball to the other side, not even able to hold the racket in my hand because it was too heavy for me," Sinner said. "I like tennis more, also because as a child I won so much in skiing and never in tennis, it bothered me."
Jannik Sinner also revealed that his favorite shot is his double-fisted backhand, and that he hopes to improve the other aspects of his game in the years ahead.
"My favorite shot? I've always played better on the backhand," Sinner said. "Everything can be improved ... The serve for example. We are also working a lot in the net game. But at 19 you can only improve."