Jannik Sinner recently shared his thoughts after his Italian nationality was questioned following his withdrawal from the 2025 Davis Cup Finals. Italy is the two-time defending champion at the tournament, having won the title in 2023 by defeating Australia in the final and again in 2024 by triumphing over the Netherlands.
The Davis Cup Finals are scheduled to take place from Nov. 18 to 23, 2025, at the Bologna Fiere exhibition center in Bologna, Italy. Teams competing alongside Team Italy include Austria, France, Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic, Argentina and Germany.
What Did Jannik Sinner Say About His Italian Heritage Just Days After Davis Cup Finals Withdrawal Drama?
Sinner was born in Innichen, located in the Northern Italian province of South Tyrol. He grew up in the town of Sexten in the Dolomite Mountains, and his mother tongue is German. This has led to questions about his national identity as an Italian.
These questions intensified after Sinner withdrew from the 2025 Davis Cup Finals, citing his desire to rest and prepare for the 2026 season. His decision drew criticism from the tennis community and Italian media.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Sinner was asked whether he would have faced less criticism regarding his Italian identity if he had been born in Southern Italy. In response, the world No. 1 stated that the region of his birth is irrelevant; what matters is that he is a “proud” Italian and is “very happy” to have been born in Italy rather than any other country.
“This is a question to which I don’t know how to respond. I don’t know. It’s like saying since today it’s sunny, it won’t rain. But I’m proud to be Italian, I’m very happy to be born in Italy and not in Austria or anywhere else,” Sinner said.
Sinner mentioned that Italy is composed of many different regions, each with its own unique strengths and characteristics, which collectively contribute to the country’s overall strength.
“Because like I always said, and I say it with full honesty, this country deserves much more than what I’m doing: we have infrastructures, coaches, players, so many different mentalities which are also our strength. Some say Alto Adige is different, some say Sicily is totally different… but we are lucky for it, in my opinion,” he continued.
The four-time Grand Slam winner also pointed out that Italy has everything it needs to compete with the “best in the world,” but that they must remain united, support one another, and draw strength from each other.
“We have everything to compete with the bests in the world, we need to stay united, to love each other and give each other strength to win more trophies and have more pride, because Italy deserves it,” Sinner added.
Sinner also revealed that in 2024, he chose to skip playing in the Paris Masters so he could compete in the Davis Cup, as he had promised his compatriot Matteo Berrettini that they would play together and win the title.
“Last year I didn’t play Paris, I wanted to play Davis Cup because I promised Matteo when we won in 2023. He was supporting us & I said ‘We’ll win the next Davis Cup together, you deserve it & we’re an incredible team,’ & we won. Then, I decided that I wouldn’t play in 2025,” Sinner said.
Most recently, Sinner competed at the 2025 Paris Masters, where he was seeded second. He began his campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. On his way to the final, he defeated Zizou Bergs, Francisco Cerúndolo, Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev.
In the championship match, Sinner triumphed over Félix Auger-Aliassime to win the 2025 Paris Masters, claiming his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title and his 23rd ATP Tour title overall. With this victory, he also regained the world No. 1 singles ranking from Carlos Alcaraz.
Where Will Jannik Sinner Compete Next?
Following the conclusion of his campaign at the Paris Masters, Sinner is set to compete next at the 2025 ATP Finals, scheduled to take place from Nov. 9 to 16, 2025. The matches of this season-ending tournament will be held on indoor hard courts at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy. Apart from the world No. 1, the players who have already qualified for the ATP Finals include Alcaraz, Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Shelton and Alex de Minaur.
This year, Sinner will be defending his title at the season-ending tournament. In 2024, he was the top seed and began his campaign by defeating seventh seed de Minaur (6-3, 6-4), fifth seed Fritz (6-4, 6-4), and the fourth seed Daniil Medvedev (6-3, 6-4) in the group stage matches.
In the semifinals, the Italian overcame sixth seed Casper Ruud (6-1, 6-2) and then defeated Fritz (6-4, 6-4) in the final to win the tournament, becoming the first Italian to win the ATP Finals title.