Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner thanks his mom, Siglinde, and dad, Johann, for giving him the freedom to pursue his tennis dreams
Jannik Sinner wouldn’t be the tennis superstar he is today without the support of his parents, Johann and Siglinde Sinner.
On June 10, 2024, Jannik became the first Italian player to ever reach the Association of Tennis Professionals’ No. 1 ranking. But despite his success on the tennis court, Jannik's parents' profession originally influenced him to pursue a different sport: skiing.
Johann, a chef, and Siglinde, a former waitress, gave birth to their son Jannik on Aug. 16, 2001, in Innichen, South Tyrol, Italy. They also welcomed an older son, Mark, in 1998.
Jannik’s parents met when they both worked at a ski lodge in Italy called Talschlüsshutte Hut. By the time he was 8 years old, Jannik had become a national giant slalom runner-up.
When he was 13, however, Jannik decided to pursue a career in tennis and credited his parents for giving him the freedom to choose a new path. After becoming the first Italian player to win a Grand Slam singles title in nearly 50 years at the Australian Open in 2024, Jannik spoke about how grateful he was for his parents.
“I wish that everyone could have my parents because they always let me choose whatever I wanted to,” Jannik said. “Even when I was younger, I also [played] some other sports and they never put pressure on [me] ... I wish that this freedom is possible for as many young kids as possible. Thank you so much [to] my parents.”
Here’s everything to know about Jannik Sinner’s parents, Johann and Siglinde Sinner.
Johann and Siglinde worked at the same ski lodge
Jannik’s parents worked hard to support him and his dreams. They both worked at the Talschlusshutte Hut ski lodge in Sexten, Italy.
Jannik’s father, Johann, worked there as a chef, while his mother, Siglinde, worked there as a waitress. Jannik noticed how hard his parents worked and put that same work ethic into his athletic career at a young age.
After beating Daniil Medvedev for the Australian Open title in 2024, Jannik spoke at a press conference about what his life looked like with his parents working so hard while he pursued his athletic dreams growing up.
“I used to go always to ski because I had ski training from 2 to 4,” Jannik said. “When I came back around 4:30 my mom used to be at home, but I went to play tennis sometimes a little bit or football so I was not that much at home.”
Johann has worked as Jannik’s professional chef on tour so they can spend time together
With Jannik’s busy schedule, Jannik and Johann don’t get to spend as much time together anymore. However, with Johann’s skills as a chef, he has joined Jannik’s staff as a chef for some of his tennis tournaments.
In 2023, at the BNP Paribas Tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., Jannik spoke with the Tennis Channel about how it was great to spend time with his father and to have him cook for him.
“My dad is here. We have a house here. We are all together,” Jannik said. “My dad was a chef [for over] 40 years or more ... He knows how to cook and obviously it’s very nice to have him around.”
“He is here cooking for us, but it’s not only about cooking,” Jannik continued. “To have one [more] member of the family ... It’s nice to have him here.
Jannik’s parents supported him when he moved away to pursue tennis at 14 years old
When Jannik was only 14 years old, he knew he wanted to pursue a full-time tennis career and moved to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to train at the Piatti Tennis Center. After winning his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2024, Jannik took time during a postgame press conference to thank his parents for supporting his dreams at such a young age.
“I went away from home when I was 14 years old. So I had to grow up quite fast, trying to cook for myself, trying to make laundry. You know, the first time, it’s different, but then in [another] way, that was maybe the fastest way to grow up,” Jannik said. “I think for me [it] was tough, but for [my] parents to leave their son [at] 14 years old, it’s also not easy and they ... never put pressure on [me], which for me is maybe the key [of] why I’m here today.”
“They are the perfect parents,” Jannik continued. “They are awesome.”
Jannik credits his parents for his work ethic
For Jannik, seeing his parents work long and hard hours had a great impact on him. The winner of two ATP Masters 1000 titles is known as one of the hardest workers in tennis and credits his parents for that work ethic.
“My parents, they are special, because when I [got] back from school, my parents were not there,” Jannik said after winning the 2024 Australian Open. “They were working. I think that’s the kind of mentality they gave me ... If you want to reach something you have to work and this kind of work ethic you can obviously learn, but most of the time it’s the parents. They give it to you.”
Jannik’s relationship with his parents hasn’t changed as he’s become famous
Jannik may have reached the pinnacle of tennis and international acclaim by being ranked the No. 1 player in the world, but his relationship with his parents hasn’t been affected. After putting the world on notice with his Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open — which included a semi-final victory over then No. 1 ATP tennis playerNovak Djokovic — Jannik elaborated on his relationship with his parents.
“My dad is still cooking. He’s still sometimes in the restaurant helping the restaurant a little bit. My mom is at home. She tries to help [at] my grandpa’s place so they are always working and that’s what I love about them,” Jannik said. “They’re not changing anything with me. I’m the normal person who I was when I was a very young kid with a big dream and now I’m just a 22-year-old [still] with a big dream.”
Jannik’s parents don’t come to see him play as much as they would like for a touching reason
After winning the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open trophies to begin 2024, Jannik won the Miami Open title in April. Jannik addressed his parents — who were there to support him more frequently earlier in his career — not being at the tournament and provided a touching reason for their absence.
“They won’t travel much, at least [for] now. I know them, so I also have my grandma and grandpa, which they [are] a certain age now [so my parents] want to stay close,” Jannik said after winning the title, per Tennis365. “We have the family at home. They live in a beautiful place, so they have a good life there.”
Although Jannik’s parents can’t attend all his matches at the moment, Jannik plans to spend more time with them as his career progresses.
“For sure I miss, personally, a little bit [of] the time with my parents because I left home when I was 13, 14,” Jannik continued. “Hopefully, I can make this [time] up in the future, but for me it’s more important [that] they are happy. I know I’m happy. If I’m happy, they’re happy. It’s all good.”
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
