Jannik Sinner

📍Sexten, South Tyrol, Italy

“Jannik Sinner was born in Innichen, in the Dolomite mountains of South Tyrol, in August 2001, and grew up in Sexten, a small German-speaking village close to the Austrian border, surrounded by jagged peaks, forests and ski slopes. His parents, Johann and Siglinde, worked at a mountain hut and ski lodge above the village, his father as a chef and his mother as a waitress, and he grew up with his adopted older brother, Marc. German is his first language. Skiing was his first love. He was on skis from a very young age, and between eight and twelve he was one of Italy's best junior skiers, finishing second in the national giant slalom championships for his age. He also played football. His father introduced him to tennis at about seven, and he played at the small local club, but only occasionally. He has said he eventually chose tennis over skiing because in skiing one mistake can ruin everything and you can be badly hurt, while in tennis you can always come back. His parents, he has said, always let him choose his own path. At thirteen he left the mountains to live and train at Riccardo Piatti's tennis academy in Bordighera, on the Ligurian coast, a big step for a quiet, independent boy far from home. He turned professional in 2018, and in 2024 he won the Australian Open, the first Italian man to win a Grand Slam title in nearly fifty years, and became world number one. He went on to win Wimbledon, and remains much loved in Sexten, where he still skis with his family.”

Sources: head.com aol.com Wikipedia: Jannik Sinner