Tennis’s Next Superstar: A Former Ski Champ, Cheered by Singing Carrots
Let’s talk about the rising tennis star Jannik Sinner. Serious tennis fans are already gaga for Sinner, the 22-year-old from Italy who’s soared to World No. 4, but I don’t think casual sports observers have gotten there yet.
It feels like only a matter of time before the redhead with a headline writer’s dream last name breaks through and wins a major tournament. It could happen at the Australian Open, where Sinner just cruised into the fourth round with a rousing 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 thump of Argentina’s Sebastian Baez. Spend a few minutes watching Sinner play, and it becomes obvious why the 6-foot-2 right-hander is ascendant.
He plays an athletic, aggressive game, with the sort of rangy power that’s a nightmare to cope with. He’s quick and fluid on hard courts like the ones in Melbourne, where he’ll slide around the baseline, take chances rushing the net, and generally make life miserable from both the forehand and backhand sides. He’s also a thumper.
At this level, every player hits hard. Sinner hits harder. Andre Agassi is a name that comes up as a comparison, but Sinner’s lanky wingspan makes him feel like his own, fresh deal.
“He has just this extra gear," a Sinner opponent, Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori, said last year. Tennis fans are bullish on Sinner because he’s already shown he can hang with the tour’s elite. He owns a winning record (4-3) against his fellow phenom, Carlos Alcaraz.
The two have had their share of epics, including an after-midnight quarterfinal at the 2022 U.S. Open which Alcaraz won in five sets. Sinner is also riding a three-match winning streak against No.
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