When Italian tennis star Janniik Sinner took to the stands to celebrate his Australian Open victory with his entourage in the players’ box, there were two notable absences.
While the 22-year-old was hugging his friends and loved ones, his parents Johann (Hanspeter) and Siglinde Sinner were back in Italy and missed this once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
Sinner praised his parents and revealed that it was their support that inspired him to give up competitive skiing and commit to tennis as a teenager.
“They always gave me everything and never pressured me, which for me is maybe the key to why I’m here,” he said.
Jannik Sinner with his parents and brother Marc Sinner.
‘They are the perfect parents. Obviously I only know them, but they’re amazing.’
But his Australian coach, Darren Cahill, revealed his parents couldn’t be there as they stayed home to work at a ski resort to continue supporting the family.
“We’re a little sad they couldn’t be here, but there’s a long way to go from Italy to the semi-finals or the final and you never know,” Cahill said.
“And I think they believe in cursing a little bit, you know, they don’t want to get on the plane and come and ruin the charm or all that.”
Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates with coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi after claiming his first Grand Slam title on Sunday night.
The other half of Sinner’s coaching staff, Simone Vagnozzi, said his parents would support him in tournaments whenever they could outside of their work commitments.
“If we talk about parents, Jannik’s parents are wonderful, really wonderful,” he said.
‘Sometimes they come to tournaments but don’t speak a word about tennis.
“They’re just there, enjoying the tournament life, but they never come to us and say, ‘Oh, you know, the serve, well, you know, this, you know, the breaking point.’”
“Right now it’s not easy to find those kinds of families because, with YouTube, everyone is a coach, especially in Italy. So we’re very lucky.”
