Jannik Sinner has opened up about missing his parents’ support during tournaments, shedding light on their travel constraints.
Sinner looked at his clinical best during the Miami Open final against Grigor Dimitrov, beating the Bulgarian 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 12 minutes to clinch his second ATP Masters 1000 title and attain a career-best World No. 2 ranking.
While the 22-year-old’s father supported him in person during the Indian Wells Masters, neither of his parents was present to cheer him on during his campaign at the Miami Open.
During his post-match press conference, Jannik Sinner explained that he and his parents lead separate lives and that they can only travel to limited tournaments due to their responsibilities towards his aging grandparents.
“They will continue to do their life, and then I do my life (smiling). For sure, my dad, you know, he had, like, in Indian Wells, he came. There are, like, three, four tournaments where they could arrive. Monaco they might arrive. Rome and Vienna and end of year hopefully in Turin if I play,” Jannik Sinner said.
“And that’s it. They won’t travel much, at least until now. I know them, so I also have grandma and grandpa, which they have a certain age now which they want to stay close to. We have the family at that home. They live in a beautiful place, so they have a good life there,” he added.
The Italian admitted to missing quality time with his parents, particularly as he left home at a young age to train in another city. He also conveyed his hope of having the chance to make up for lost time in the future.
“For sure I miss personally a little bit the time with my parents, because I left home when I was 13, 14. So I haven’t had so much time with them,” he said.
“Hopefully, I can make this up in the future, but, I mean, for me it’s more important if they are happy. I know I’m happy. If I’m happy, they’re happy. It’s all good,” he added.
Jannik Sinner on leaving home at the age of 13: “It was tough for my parents too; as soon as I got there, I started crying”
Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner left his hometown of Sexton to train at Riccardo Piatti’s academy in Bordighera at the age of just 13. In a recent interview, the Italian opened up about his experience of moving away from his parents.
He disclosed that the separation was challenging for his parents as well, recounting reaching out to them in tears just two hours after the move. However, the 22-year-old shared that he had reassured his parents of his well-being, insisting that they didn’t need to retrieve him.
“It was tough for them (my parents) too. I was 13 and a half years old, and the truth is that as soon as I got there I started crying, I called them after two hours,” Jannik Sinner told Vanity Fair (quotes translated from Italian).
“They must have thought, ‘Here, we have to go get him’. Instead, I told him to be calm, that everything was fine,” he added.
Sinner will be back in action at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which commences on April 7.