Tennis a costly dream? Jannik Sinner would have quit if not ranked top 200 by 23

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has revealed that he would have quit tennis by the age of 23, if he had not entered the top 200 in the men's singles ranking. Speaking ahead of his first-round game in the US Open, Sinner said that coming from a modest family, it would have been difficult to sustain his sporting endeavours without cracking into the top rankings.

Asked about his dream of playing tennis from his childhood days, Sinner stated that he quickly realised that his family would not have been able to sustain tennis unless he himself won enough prize money to take care of his career.

Sinner said that he gave himself till the age of 23 or 24 and made peace with the fact that he would quit tennis if he was not inside the top 200 rankings in men's singles competition.

"I told my parents that if I was not ranked under 200 at the age of 23 or 24, I would stop playing tennis. Because we could not afford it, you know. It costs a lot of money to travel around for tournaments, to have a coach. I was very lucky that I started to earn my money at around 18, and I felt safe. When you are young, you dream, you do not even believe it," Sinner said.

Aged 24, Sinner now is the first Italian to win a Grand Slam. He has dominated tennis alongside Carlos Alcaraz for the last few years and is being heralded as the next great. Sinner stated that in many ways he has already outdone his dream and whatever he is getting now is simply a bonus.

"I used to say that I wanted to be World No. 1, I wanted to win a Grand Slam, and it was really just a dream. But the position I am in right now is well beyond my dream. Now it’s different, now I understand my potential. But when I was young, if I had been top 100, I would have been the happiest. Everything right now is a big extra," Sinner concluded on the matter.

Jannik Sinner's Family Background

Jannik Sinner's parents, Siglinde and Hanspeter, worked at a ski lodge. His father was a chef and his mother a waitress. Coming from a modest background, the family was aware of the financial challenges associated with competitive tennis, which demands extensive travel and coaching expenses. Despite these hurdles, they committed to nurturing his talent, providing both emotional and practical support.

Jannik’s disciplined upbringing and close-knit family environment played a crucial role in shaping his work ethic and determination. His parents' encouragement and belief in his abilities gave him the confidence to pursue a professional tennis career, laying the foundation for his rise in the international tennis world.

Sinner is not the first person to talk about the unsustainability of tennis for lower-ranked players. India's top-ranked men's singles player Sumit Nagal had made a shocking revelation in September 2023 that he was left with only Rs 80,000 in his bank account.

"If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (approx Rs 80,000). I did get a bit of help. Mr. Prashant Sutar is helping me with MAHA Tennis Foundation and I also get monthly (salary) from IOCL but I don't have any big sponsor," Nagal had told PTI in an interview.

"I am investing whatever I am making. The yearly cost when I travel with one coach is costing me around 80 lakh to 1 crore and that is just with one travelling coach (no physio). Whatever I have made I have already invested.

"I feel like I am lacking support despite being India's number-one player for the past few years. I am the only player to qualify for the Grand Slams, only player to win a (tennis) match at the Olympics (Tokyo) in the last few years, and still the government has not added my name to the TOPS.

"I felt when my ranking dropped after injury, no one wanted to help me, no one really believed that I could be back. That was disappointing because I feel whatever I do is not enough. It's so hard to find financial support in India. To be honest, I do not know what to do, I have given up," Nagal had said in 2023.