Too Early To Tell If Jannik Sinner Is Italy's Greatest Tennis Player, Warns Pietrangeli - UBITENNIS

Too Early To Tell If Jannik Sinner Is Italy’s Greatest Tennis Player, Warns Pietrangeli

By Adam Addicott
5 Min Read
2025 AUSTRALIAN OPEN - PHOTO BY RAY GIUBILO

Jannik Sinner continues to rewrite the history books in men’s tennis after successfully defending his title at the Australian Open.

Sinner, the only Italian player to hold an ATP No.1 ranking, disposed of Alexander Zverev in straight sets to win his third Grand Slam. In doing so, he has won more major singles titles than any other player from his country. Furthermore, Zverev is the 10th consecutive top-10 player he has beaten on the Tour in straight sets, a new record.

At the age of 23, Sinner has already won 19 ATP trophies which is the fifth highest tally among active players. Those above him (Zverev, Marin Cilic, Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic) are at least four years older than him. When it comes to just Tour-level hard court titles, the only active players to win more than Sinner are Medvedev and Djokovic.

Given his surge in the sport, some are already labeling the three-time Grand Slam winner the best player of all time from his country—a claim that another legend of Italian tennis has disputed.

Nicola Pietrangeli won two French Open titles during his career. According to The International Tennis Hall of Fame, he was ranked inside the World’s Top 10 five times between 1957 and 1964, peaking at a high of No. 3 in 1959 and 1960. He also won 120 matches in the Davis Cup which is the most by any Italian player.

“It’s right that he overtook me, records are made to be broken”, Pietrangeli said of Sinner’s achievements during an interview with the Adnkronos news agency. “But the accounts are done at the end, I wish him with all my heart to do even better. I was scary on the court, but not to everyone like him”.

“I don’t know if he’s the strongest Italian tennis player ever, he’s 23 years old. We’ll see when he’s 30. Now everyone’s talking about Sinner, but until two years ago no one even knew who he was.

“At the end of his career, we’ll see if he’s been the best Italian tennis player ever, anything can still happen”.

Sinner’s performance in Melbourne has been hailed by Pietrangeli as a sign of his dominance in men’s tennis. Since the start of 2024, the world No.1 has won 80 out of 86 matches played.

“It was a walk in the park for Sinner. He’s now walking around the court. I said last year that this season Sinner will have to give his opponents an advantage,” he said.

“No one is at his level, and it’s not their fault. He’s too strong. I wrote that this final would end in three sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, and so it was. I also predicted the result, I expected it. Because he’s too strong. I think he could lose a match only if he slept badly or is feeling unwell. I don’t know what he can improve, he’s already number one in the world. You can see that he’s having fun on the court and that’s important.”

Whilst he is undoubtedly a formidable force on the court, Sinner’s 2025 season will be shaped by the outcome of an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision to clear him of blame after he twice tested positive for a banned substance. Last season Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol which the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted was caused by accidental contamination via a former physio who was using the substance to treat a cut on his hands. WADA is arguing that the ruling of no fault or negligence is “not correct under the applicable rules” and requested a ban of up to two years.

During the ongoing case, Sinner has repeated his innocence. Speaking to reporters in Melbourne on Sunday, he says he wouldn’t have been able to achieve his latest milestone if he didn’t have a ‘clear mind.’

“I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened,” he said.

“If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this, and that’s it.

“I just came off an amazing run again here. I want to enjoy this moment.”

WADA’s appeal hearing will take place in April and Sinner is allowed to continue playing according to official rules.

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