Jannik Sinner’s Parents’ Career-Changing Decision to Back the Italian Hailed by Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach

Jannik Sinner‘s parents permitted him to leave their home at the age of 14 so that he could pursue a career in tennis. 8 years later, yesterday, he recalled those sacrifices, love, and support of his parents, as he held the Norman Brookes Challenger Cup at the Rod Laver Arena.

On hearing such a heartwarming story from the new Australian Open champion, Serena William‘s former coach lauded Sinner’s parents. There are numerous instances of children being pushed into the sport by overbearing parents. Some are even victims of physical and verbal abuse. Andre Agassi had once shared his struggles with tennis at the initial stages of his career. But for Sinner, it has been a completely different picture.

Serena Williams’ former coach reflects on the importance of letting kids pursue their passion

Jannik Sinner’s father and mother had worked as a chef and waitress at a Ski Lodge in the early days. Sinner had started skiing and playing tennis at the age of 3. Then while learning skiing, he gave up tennis at the age of 7, but his father convinced him back into the racket sport. At 13, he decided to fully concentrate on tennis and continued his full-time training at the prestigious Piatti Tennis Academy of Bordighera, Italy. Rest is history.

Yesterday, he became the first Italian to win the Australian Open. Sinner credited his parents for giving him the freedom to pursue his career in tennis. Rennae Stubbs lauded his parents’ decision on a recent podcast and said, “The speeches that they both gave were incredible, I loved Jannik Sinner thanking his parents for not pushing him into a sport that maybe you know, we all know how great of skier he is.“

Stubbs added, “And just, I’m sure that the parents knowing from where they are from, probably wanted him to maybe ski, didn’t really understand the sport of tennis that well is just indicative of how important it is to let your kids do the passion and do the sport that they really love.”

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Jannik Sinner also became the third Italian to win a men’s singles Grand Slam. He had to defeat the world number one, Novak Djokovic, on his way to the top. Sinner must surely feel incredible about his achievement. But what did he say after the match? Let’s find out.

Sinner recalling those tough days of leaving a close-knit family to pursue his dreams

In the post-match interview, Jannik Sinner said, “I wished that everyone could have my parents because they always let me choose whatever I wanted to. Even when I was younger I also made some other sports and they never put pressure on myself, and I wish that this freedom is possible for as many young kids as possible. Thank you so much for my parents.“

He then revealed how badly he missed his parents while staying away from them for so long. Sinner shared his experiences from the past and stated, “I went away from home when I was 14 years old, so I had to grow up quite fast — trying to cook for myself, trying to make laundry. You know, the first times it is different but then in the other way, that was maybe the fastest way to grow up. I think for me it was tough, but for the parents to leave their son at 14 years old, it’s also not easy.“

Jannik Sinner ended his speech by saying that his parents never put any pressure on him and he felt perhaps this is one of the reasons why he’s here today. He expressed gratitude and called his parents ‘the perfect parents.’

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