Is playing multiple sports in childhood the key to becoming a top athlete? While some experts believe it’s essential for developing fundamental skills and maintaining mobility, others argue for early specialization. Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, recently weighed in on this debate, using Jannik Sinner as an example.

For the unversed, Jannik Sinner was first a skier, and then he became a tennis player later on. So, when he won the Australian Open title earlier this year, the American alpine ski racer, Lindsey Vonn, labeled him as the “Best skier to win a Grand Slam.” Sinner’s parents used to work in a ski lodge where his father was a chef and his mother was a waitress. He once revealed, “My parents are special because when I (came) back from school my parents were not there, they were working and I used to go always to ski. When I came back home at 4:30, my mom used to be at home but I went to play tennis sometimes, a little bit of football (soccer).” So, we can say Jannik Sinner grew up playing multiple sports.

Has playing multiple sports since a very young age helped the Italian gain so much success at this age? Recently, Rick Macci shared a tweet where he wrote, “All parents have to understand playing Multiple Sports will enhance your athleticism. Jannik Sinner, being a nimble Downhill skiing champion as a junior, is an epic movement facilitator now made of Italian Granite that has launched him Uphill to the best on the Planet.”

Not only Macci, but even Andy Roddick once stated that Sinner might have an advantage over other players on grass courts because of his skiing expertise. According to Sinner, his parents have never pressured him to take up any particular sport. He was given complete freedom to choose whatever he wanted, but why did he snub skiing to take up the racquet sport, though?

The reasons behind Jannik Sinner’s switch from skiing to tennis

Jannik Sinner took up tennis at age 7, but for many years he was equally interested in football (soccer) and, especially, skiing; at 12 he was among Italy’s top giant slalom racers for his age group. Sinner never idolized any tennis player while growing up. Instead, he idolized the alpine skier, Bode Miller, and he felt he looked like him in the snow. “Skiing gave me many good things, starting with the ability to manage an advantage,” said Sinner.

Although, at times, we still find him spending some time off the court to pursue his passion for skiing, he’s now happy with the racquet sport. And why he shouldn’t be? 2 Grand Slam titles at the age of just 23! Sinner strongly believes that skiing has helped him shape up mentally. Not only that, he also believes skiing has helped him master on-court sliding in tennis.

“It brings me a little bit of balance, maybe, or when you slide because of the balance,” said Jannik Sinner. However, despite all the benefits he got from skiing, why did he choose to quit it, though? Well, it could be because of a ‘fear’. Fear of losing or fear of serious injuries?

During an interview, Jannik Sinner revealed, “I was winning a lot when I was young in skiing, and in tennis. I never won. And then slowly I started to lose in skiing because physically I was not ready to compete. I was always quite skinny and everything.” He further added, “The reason why I chose tennis was, in tennis, you can make mistakes. You can lose points but you can still win the match. In skiing, if you make one mistake, one big mistake, you cannot win.”

According to Jannik Sinner, skiing is a “dangerous sport” because one has to get up early in the morning and venture outside in frigid temperatures. Whereas, tennis is way more accessible than that. So these are some of the things that encouraged Sinner to take up the racquet sport. Looking at his work ethic and dedication, do you Sinner could’ve been a superstar in the skiing world as well?