Injured Sinner draws ATP Finals ovation in Turin and receives Giulio Onesti award

Sinner stays off court but still fills the arena

On Sunday, 15 November, Jannik Sinner walked onto the centre court of the Inalpi Arena in Turin during the ATP Finals, although he is not competing in the tournament. A knee injury has kept him out since his Wimbledon triumph, and it forced him to close his season early. The crowd greeted him with an ovation and chanted his name as he entered before the match between Alexander Zverev and Rafael Jodar. Sinner, wearing a black suit, then addressed the spectators and said he would be following them from home.

“Enjoy yourselves, it is a very special tournament.”

Italian tennis receives the Giulio Onesti award

Franco Carraro, president of the Fondazione Giulio Onesti, presented the award, given this year to Italian tennis, at the Inalpi Arena. Sinner accepted it alongside Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian tennis federation, and Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri. Carraro said tennis was chosen because no other sport in the last 20 years has evolved in a similar way, pointing to the tenfold rise in registered members. He also called Sinner the greatest Italian tennis player of all time, and said budget income had risen from 16 to 240 million.

“In the history of Italian sport there has not been a federation or movement that has evolved like tennis, which has multiplied its registered members tenfold and achieved extraordinary results.”

Luciano Bonfiglio, president of the CONI, told Sinner that the sporting body was waiting with great attention for his return to the court. The applause from the arena was long and loud after that remark, while Sinner remained without a racket and without his usual kit.

Recovery comes before ranking

Sinner told former female tennis player Andrea Petkovic, who put questions to him on stage, that his first priority is to recover fully. He admitted that he had lost a lot of weight after a tonsil operation that left him weakened, and said he has been training with a simulator and in the gym. He is working with new coach Magnus Norman, who is still settling in, since the era with Darren Cahill has ended. Petkovic asked how it felt to have spent 95 weeks at the top of the ranking, but Sinner avoided talking about points or rivals.

“First of all I hope to return to health soon, I am sorry not to be able to play here this year.”

Sinner gave no date for a return to competition and said he was already planning the next season.

Crowds across the weekend

On Saturday, 14 November, Sinner appeared at the Nike Store with Paolo Maldini, where hundreds of fans gathered under the porticoes of via Roma. Before the Zverev and Jodar match, he walked the court in a parade of former world number ones that included Nastase, Wilander, Edberg, Becker, Muster, Safin and Ferrero, and he drew the loudest applause of the group. Ferrero is now coach of Ben Shelton and sits on his team at this edition of the Finals. Larissa Iapichino, the long jumper, met Sinner in the mixed zone, where he told her to keep it up and she replied that the crowd was waiting for him.