Sinner « Alberto Cei

In January 2022, Jannik Sinner, the young Italian tennis player, underwent significant progress in his tennis career. Already at a relatively young age, he had demonstrated extraordinary talent and had gained international recognition for his skills and potential.

At that time, Sinner had won several ATP tournaments and had secured a place among the top 10 players in the ATP rankings. However, describing him as a ‘tennis champion’ might require a bit more time and notable victories in Grand Slam tournaments such as Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open, or Roland Garros.

The shift from a talented tennis player to a bona fide champion necessitates consistency, outstanding performances in major tournaments, and continual ascension in the world rankings. While Sinner has showcased immense potential and achieved significant success on the ATP circuit, the designation of ‘tennis champion’ often coincides with a player’s attainment of high-level milestones and a sustained record of excellence across various conditions and tournaments.

Sinner undeniably possesses the talent and potential to ascend to the level of a tennis champion, but as of January 2022, he was still regarded as an up-and-coming young tennis player with promising prospects for the trajectory of his sports career.

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“Mancini gives Sinner a jersey” was written on the banners in Turin, demonstrating not only the technical recognition of this young tennis player, but also his ability to play matches at an absolute level in an intelligent and combative manner.

Qualities these last two that the Italian national team lacked in its useful two matches. At the moment, the success at the European soccer championship last summer can be interpreted, in my opinion, as the victory of an outsider team that managed to express itself at its highest level, just as happened in the past to teams like Greece and Denmark. Deserved success of course, as well as the skills of the players certainly cannot have melted away in these months.

The question concerns the next path: is it possible to repeat that kind of performance? The answer is not obvious, because we know that maintaining a high standard of continued success over time is not only not obvious but not at all easy.

At the moment, the Italian team has not passed the test, the collective team has been insufficient to the task and the individuals have not been able to represent a decisive added value.

We do not know what the future will be like, but certainly a different and more specific psychological preparation must be carried out, rather than the simple and obvious “we play for fun, we have the skills to move forward” and so on.