Jannik Sinner never expected to become a tennis player, having started the sport as a hobby, but he feels very fortunate to have it as a career right now.
The Italian was always into sports, but for the early part of his childhood, the sport in question was skiing. He was one of the biggest skiing prospects in Italy but fell in love with tennis after picking it up as a hobby.
He then ended up choosing tennis over skiing, and it proved to be a correct decision. Sinner will start off Wimbledon week as the number one player in the world, ahead of other fantastic players such as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
Not only has he been able to make a career out of the sport, but he has also worked his way to the pinnacle of the sport, which is just amazing. It's something he never expected to happen, and he feels very lucky.
Not much changed for him because it started as a hobby, and he still treats it like a hobby because he enjoys it so much, as he revealed ahead of the 2024 Wimbledon.
"I am very lucky because I started tennis as a hobby and now it has become a job. In my mind it is still a hobby. I love going out on the court and just playing. I think there are no negative things."
"I know how much I have sacrificed to be in the position I'm in. It's always an honor to go out on court. I think that's one of the reasons why I love tennis, I don't take anything for granted."
Sinner will have a huge chance at the upcoming Wimbledon Championships because he's widely considered to be the best grass player behind Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz won the title at SW19 last year, but the Italian won the only match on grass they played at the 2022 Wimbledon.