Seen up close, Jannik Sinner is striking for his grace, good manners, and an old-fashioned politeness. The context is Olympic: the presentation of Team 26, the program for recruiting volunteers for Milano Cortina 2026, of which Jannik Sinner is the first ambassador, and it is not everyone who objectively boasts the number one, not so to speak, of one of the most popular sports at an international level.
Sinner is at ease, you can tell he feels at home in a place where people talk about snow and his mountains, which he calls ours in full: he didn’t need to study his part, to invent phrases of circumstance. He was born and raised in Sesto in Val Pusteria, 33 km from Anterselva, the Olympic venue for biathlon. And he ends up talking about himself, on a human level, almost more than he does in tennis contexts.
«I grew up in one of the most beautiful parts of Italy, perhaps of the world», he says, «because of the mountains that we have especially in winter: there was often a lot of snow and skiing for me and my friends was a very normal thing like walking: skiing and sport in general gave me a lot, they helped me understand what kind of person I am, then in the end I chose tennis, but our mountains are a marvel just to look at and hosting the Olympic Games is a great honor for us, I would have liked to be in Paris, it was the most important goal for me, unfortunately I didn’t make it. For me, being part of the volunteer team really means a lot, here we need 18 thousand people, which is really a lot, but already playing tennis I understand that without volunteers the event doesn’t even exist, it’s unthinkable to do without them. Let’s try to make a beautiful program all together and make Milano Cortina an unforgettable experience for the best athletes in the world”.
Jannik remained famous for his unusual conversation with the ball boy who was holding his umbrella during a rain break, in which he had the kindness to hold the umbrella for the girl: «At the Olympics to be a volunteer you have to be at least 18 years old, in tennis where the work is a bit easier there are also younger kids, here the event is very big, the biggest there is and it requires perfection: I have great respect for the ball boys, because without them the tournament would not exist and I always thank them first, I always think about the fact that they come with so much desire, that we on the pitch are idols for them, very important ideas for their growth and I believe that it is also our job to make them understand that we appreciate their importance».
There is a joke, with the president of Coni Giovanni Malagò, about Sinner’s past as a skier who chose tennis, but who as a child we know had also thought he was even stronger as a skier, leading to the idea of offering him, obviously as a joke, a wild card, an invitation to the Games. Needless to say, downhill. Jannik laughs: «Maybe it’s not really the case», then seriously he says, «At one point I was afraid of doing downhill, in tennis you have no reason to be afraid, if you make a mistake usually nothing serious happens. I think skiing gave me balance.when you have good balance it is also easier to play tennis, maybe this is the only common element, but from a mental point of view they are different sports. One of the most beautiful days of the year, however, for me, is always December 25th: in my house it is traditional to celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th because my parents always had to work on the 25th during Christmas lunch. The 25th has always been a special day for me because my friends and I make a great group and we go skiing: it gives me a lot, being in my mountains recharges me. Skiing is still very important».
For the Games, he who understands their importance, wishes everyone “that there will be a good year of snow because in that you also need luck, I am very honored to be part of this team, they know that I am available if needed, I am very open, I understand the value of volunteers, I will put my heart into it”
Someone teases him about his ambition to have a role as a torchbearer or something else: «It’s something that we can’t talk about yet, but I would certainly like to be a part of it in some way because sport has really given me so much, and I have never found the sensations that skiing gave me in any other sport, my connection with winter, with our mountains is really very deep, living them even today with friends gives me a feeling of freedom, Let’s see what we can do.” Anyone who loves skiing, even just as a hobby, knows those sensations, knows that he doesn’t invent.
It is impossible not to ask him if when he chose tennis, his world, which lives on skiing and snow, he didn’t ask him to think again: «There were many who told me that. The thing that I missed at a certain point when I made the choice to go to Riccardo Piatti was being with my friends, for me it was normal to spend the day with them, after being at school together, we went skiing and then twice a week we played football togetherI missed this and I think that when they told me that, they wanted to tell me come back so we can be together. This part was difficult for me, as well as leaving my family: friends are important, but they have always remained, they have never gone away.this is the most beautiful thing.”
Imagining himself as a live Olympic spectator, he laughs, becoming a child again with shining eyes, «If I could, I would see them all, if I had to choose, maybe I like the giant slalom a lot, and the downhill too, from the outside, to see the dynamics: when you watch it on TV you don’t really realise how fast it is or how much you jump, there are so many disciplines that I would like to see. Let’s see how much time I have.”
What would you say to an undecided boy to convince him to volunteer? «We don’t push anyone to volunteer, I think it’s something that when you think about it is already a decision, maybe you don’t feel like doing it alone, find the right company, a friend to work with every day there, I think this is quite easy, because all the people who choose to do it have a very open mind, they know that you have to be ready to help not only the athletes but also the other volunteers, in the end I think it’s also a personal growth, because it puts you in the position to see the best athletes in the world even in the small way of how they behave”.
