Jannik Sinner – The Return

In tennis, things can change so quickly. I prepare myself to win as many matches as possible, but sometimes when you experience difficult and tough situations, it kind of opens your eyes. It's going to be a quite long practice session today. Trying to get used to the rhythm again. You know, getting ready for clay season. The mental strength and the mental preparation is very, very important. Every one of us have doubts, no? And I have doubts every time when I step on court, but I remind myself that I'm capable of winning. My first big breakthrough was in 2019 when I turned 18. I won my first Challenger, finished the year in Top 100. I won the ATP Next Gen Finals. Everything came very fast. Sensational. Out of nowhere, center is storming into the quarterfinals. The Italian is rising fast. The 2024 Australian Open. I always wanted to say that I'm a Grand Slam champion, so it was a beautiful feeling. But I never take things for granted. The world's number one male tennis player was contaminated during a massage from his physio, and a tribunal has ruled no fault or negligence by Sinner. Sinner is clear to play while the case remains under review. The US Open in New York, with the news coming out only five days before, was a really tough one. I was very, very nervous. Some people watching me in different eyes. It was not easy. The way he handles this, how he carries himself, could tell us a lot about who Yannick Sinner really is. This for the title. That was one very difficult moment. So, you know, to win a Grand Slam, it was a big achievement. Your 2024 US Open Men's Champion, Yannick! Everything can happen off the court. You cannot really control it. The reigning champion, Yannick Sinner! We tried to survive somehow. But then on the court, I feel in a safe place. It's a second for Sinner, down under. You know, from outside, I don't seem so emotional, but I am emotional. When I have a tough moment, sometimes I cannot hold it back. I'm sometimes very hard to myself. I had doubts every day. But I remind myself of how much work I did to get to this point. Thinking back from where I'm from, I grew up in a very small town in northern Italy, in the middle of the mountains. We didn't have many things. My dad used to be a cook. My mom used to be the server in the same restaurant. Where I'm from, obviously, skiing is very, very important. I used to ski a lot, and I played also football. And I played a little bit of tennis, but that was much better than skiing. I feel like the biggest difference between skiing and tennis is that in skiing, you go down for one minute, and if you make one mistake, you cannot win anymore. And in tennis, you can make so many mistakes and still win the match. So, when I was 13 and a half, I chose to become a tennis player. I made a difficult choice to go to this place to practice. It's around a six-and-a-half, seven-hour drive, so I had to leave my parents, my friends, my brother, my other two sports, everything I left back home. My life changed completely from one day to the other. Practicing every day, having muscle pain, a pain I never had before. I realised what person I am, what I'm capable of, how fast I've grown playing the game I love. I believe that this was the right path for me, and this is what really matters. In the beginning, I feel a bit rusty, but it's good to get the body again going, to adapt myself with the best players again. Dante is a fantastic player, very talented. This is a bit of a strange situation. We're stuck during the season, and we're slowly trying to get back to the level we were before. Actually, maybe we're better than before. Always remember when you go out, you don't want to pull too hard, or you'll stiffen up. It's good, mate. I expect you to get tired today. It's normal. Two or three days, you can get right back to normal. We have to keep pushing his game to make sure he continues to improve, because everyone around him will improve. They will try to find weaknesses within his game. He knows he's got the tools and the weapons to be able to win those big matches. It's just about having the belief to execute. I try to go against this difficult and tough situation and try to put myself up and say, OK, here's one more week, here's one more day, what I can do better. This is exactly what we are trying to do with this practice. We will be ready again. You know, when we step on the court, it's all about what you do before a match. Going in the gym, the nutrition, the sleeping, the off-court. It's very important to get to know yourself as much as you can, and I'm getting to know my mind and my body much more, and every year I know myself better, and I think this gives me confidence, hopefully, to play some good tennis. I was struggling a lot last year with being happy on the court because of this stopping case I had in my mind, and it was very difficult. And this last period, I did other things. I spent time with my family, with my friends. I believe if you're happy off the court and then on the court, it's easier to play. I feel like it's a new me coming back. I always have this belief that if you can make a better person, you're going to make a better athlete. And if you do the little things well every single day, you become a better person, you have more discipline, you gain more belief, you gain more resilience, and that's why you see him able to have the confidence now to step up in the big moments and the belief to get it done. To come back, it's going to be exciting. I believe that everything can happen. I'm looking forward to it. The first step is just getting back on tour. But where I really want to be is back at the Grand Slams, testing myself against the very best in the world. I don't give myself, like, a hugely incredible chance. But let's see. What a welcome for Yannick Senner, back in action on home turf. This is Championship Point. I'm just living my dreams. It's amazing. And having this trophy with me means a lot.