Jannik Sinner has been in Dubai for almost two weeks and is practicing hard with all his team members for the start of the new season. The world No. 1 who left everyone speechless in 2024 wants to achieve even brighter results next year and knows he needs to improve in some areas of his game.
During practice sessions in the UAE, the 2-time Grand Slam champion focused mainly on serving and variations to make his game even more unpredictable. The Italian ace has improved a lot in the last year and his results have been truly exceptional, with eight titles won and only six defeats suffered from January until November.
The regularity of the 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria also made the difference in the ATP ranking, where Jannik created a truly huge gap over all his opponents. It is no coincidence that his great rival Carlos Alcaraz is almost 5000 points away despite winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024.
Sinner is already certain to remain at the top of the ATP rankingeven after the Australian Open, but his future could be conditioned by the decision of the CAS in Lausanne. The trial relating to his doping case will not take place before February 11, 2025 and the Italian champion risks suffering a disqualification of 1 to 2 years.
Kalinskaya doesn'tanswer
The 2-time Grand Slam champion has already shown that he has extraordinary mental strength and does not let himself be influenced by events off the tennis court. The same goes for gossip, with his love-story with Anna Kalinskaya that has attracted a lot of speculations in recent months.
After a period of apparent crisis - triggered by Anna's non-presence at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin - the couple seems to have reconciled and Sinner flew to Miami at the beginning of December to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday. The two players prefer to keep their love-story confidential, as confirmed by the Russian player in recent days. The WTA star was recently interviewed ahead of the 2025 Australian Open, but when asked a question about Jannik she preferred not to answer.
"As tennis players we are, you know, different. I am different also to other tennis players. But for sure I always try to support her. She also tries to support me, giving some positive energy," the Italian ace said in an interview during the Beijing ATP 500 in October.
The future of tennis
Despite some tough moments off the court, there is no doubt that Sinner was the best player in the world in 2024. The world number 1 has totaled impressive numbers, such as to make his season one of the best of all time. As if that wasn't enough, the Italian ace won the ATP Finals in front of his fans without losing a single set and dragged Italy to victory at the Davis Cup Finals for the second year in a row.
Although they have not faced each other in a Grand Slam final, everyone has understood that Sinner and Alcaraz represent the future of this sport. The Italian and Spaniard - who have already played some incredible matches against each other - have equally split the four Major titles in 2024.
The 21-year-old from Murcia became the youngest player ever to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season, reaching impressive peaks between spring and summer. Jannik - who was defeated by his great rival three times in as many clashes in 2024 - was much more consistent throughout the year and ended the season with an extraordinary 73-6 record.
During a long interview with Tennis Magazin, current World No.2 Alexander Zverev talked about Sinner and Alcaraz: Ive known Jannik since he was 16 or 17 years old. He trained with Riccardo Piatti near Monte Carlo. Whenever it rained, we went there because there was a hall there. So Ive known him since he was a young boy at the academy.
In terms of tennis, he absolutely deserves to be number one in the world. He has won two Grand Slam titles, three Masters titles and the ATP Finals. He is the best player in the world, he has won the most titles.
The German champion added: Carlos is someone I really get on well with.
Weve had some special moments together, playing the biggest matches against each other on the court and spending a bit more time together off the court. Thats what has developed.
Every time we play, and every time weve played this year, its been a very high level with a lot of entertainment to watch and its just fun to be on the court with him.
