Apart from playing brilliant tennis, Jannik Sinner was also an accomplished skier. He began skiing at the young age of three and quickly became one of Italy’s top junior skiers, even winning a national championship in 2008. In addition to skiing, he also played soccer.
Recently, Sinner’s former soccer club president, Wolfram Egarter, reflected on a memorable incident involving the World No. 1’s father, Hanspeter Sinner. He recounted how Hanspeter had punished Sinner as a child after he displayed a self-centered attitude during a soccer match.
Wolfram Egarter recalled Jannik Sinner Being Punished by His Father, Hanspeter
Sinner played football for the AFC Sexten youth team during his youth. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Egarter revealed that the four-time Grand Slam champion would practice all three sports, skiing, soccer, and tennis, every day. He revealed that when the Italian arrived at the soccer field, he was so eager to play that he often refused to leave.
“Three. Skiing, soccer, and tennis. All at the same time. It often happened that he’d practice other sports on the same day and then come to the field. He never stopped; he always wanted to play,” Egarter said [translated from Italian].
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Egarter also mentioned an instance where Sinner’s father had to substitute him out of a match due to his refusal to play as part of a team. Instead of passing the ball to his teammates, Sinner was overly focused on scoring goals himself.
“Exactly. And he didn’t spare him the scolding. During one match, he had substituted him because, to score a goal, Jannik had shuffled past all the opponents. ‘You have to pass it to the other kids. It’s a team sport; everyone needs their help,'” he added.
On the tennis side of things, Sinner most recently competed in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, where he triumphed over two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final, claiming his first title at the London Major and his fourth Grand Slam title overall.
“Jannik Sinner Was the Best on the Team” – Wolfram Egarter
In the aforementioned interview, Sinner’s former soccer club president, Egarter, mentioned that while playing soccer, Sinner was the “best” on the team, exhibited “incredible coordination,” and scored many goals throughout the year.
“He was the best on the team. He had incredible coordination. He ran and set up plays, a number 10. And he scored between 20 and 30 goals a year,” Egarter said.
Egarter also said that between Sinner and his father, Hanspeter, the World No. 1 was the better player. He mentioned that although Hanspeter might not have been the better athlete in their father-son duo, he is an “exceptional person.”
“Jannik! Dad wasn’t very good, but he was always an exceptional person. In one game, for example, when an opponent was down, he picked up the ball in the penalty area to get him to the rescue. The result? A penalty for the others. He’s always been like that, attentive to others,” he added.
Looking ahead, Sinner will kick off his hard-court season at the 2025 Canadian Open, scheduled to take place from July 27 to August 7, 2025, at the Sobeys Stadium in Toronto. The four-time Grand Slam champion won the ATP Masters 1000 title in 2023 by defeating Alex de Minaur in the final.
