Jannik Sinner Makes Surprising Admission About Preferring Skiing To Tennis

Jannik Sinner was involved in a humorous video with his compatriot Flavio Cobolli, which contained an admission that revealed how much he loves skiing.

Sinner competed at this week's 2025 Halle Open, his first appearance since losing an incredible 2025 Roland Garros final to Carlos Alcaraz. He lost in a deciding set tiebreak despite holding three championship points in the fourth set.

Alexander Bublik defeated Sinner in the round of 16 in Halle. The Kazakhstani is very difficult to face on grass at his best, and he showed that with an excellent serving performance to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Despite the loss at Roland Garros, Sinner seemed in good spirits before the match against Bublik. He admitted to some sleepless nights after the defeat, but also spoke maturely about having his best run at Roland Garros on a surface that he previously struggled on.

Sinner's seemingly healthy mental state was demonstrated in a video he did with Cobolli. His fellow Italian briefly took over as the Admin of the ATP Tour's X page and asked the three-time Grand Slam champion three questions.

Cobolli started by asking Sinner to choose his favorite surface. Unsurprisingly, the world No. 1 picked hard courts, the surface on which he has won all of his Grand Slams and Masters 1000 titles. He also secured the 2024 ATP Finals on an indoor hard court.

Fans may have been more surprised by Sinner's second answer. When Cobolli asked him if he preferred skiing or playing tennis, the Roland Garros runner-up initially said he liked skiing more in the winter.

Unsatisfied with that response, Cobolli requested that Sinner choose definitively between the two sports. Without much hesitation, Sinner picked skiing, which did not seem to surprise Cobolli.

The two-time Australian Open winner's background makes the answer less shocking. He started skiing at age three and was one of Italy's top junior skiers until age 12, when he started doing it less often to focus on tennis.

During the off-season, Sinner spends much time skiing with his family and friends. The consistent traveling and hectic schedule that comes with being one of the best players worldwide means the off-season is one of his few chances to ski.

It allows Sinner to switch off after competing from January to November. The 23-year-old regularly makes finals at the tournaments he plays, which means playing a full season is undoubtedly tiring and stressful.

However, Sinner already had a three-month break this season from February until a few days before the 2025 Italian Open in May after he and his team accepted a three-month suspension from the World Anti-Doping Agency to end his high-profile doping case.

Sinner still feels he was innocent, but his lawyer advised him to take the three-month ban in case the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed down a harsher punishment. He had a CAS hearing scheduled there before the case settlement.

Although the world No. 1 did not want any suspension, the break allowed him to refresh and do a lot of physical work. Sinner is noticeably more muscular than he was before being banned.