The Italian is at the top of his game at the Australian Open and he owes it to his preparation.
Jannik Sinner is in the big leagues. At the end of 2023, the Italian was the best player on the circuit, he impressed during the year-end Masters in Turin, even if he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic. He also won the Davis Cup with Italy, this time beating the Serbian in the final. In 2024, the world number 4 in the ATP rankings achieved the impossible, beating the scarecrow Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam. Holder of 10 Australian Opens and undefeated since his defeat in 2018, the Serbian was defeated by the young 22-year-old Italian who is now moving into another sphere.
With an atypical, very slender physique, Jannik Sinner shows his power and has a very varied range of games. Very cold in his attitude on the pitch, he hardly lets anything show in terms of his emotions. His technique is pure and is illustrated by the tension of the strings of the Italian, who strings his rackets at 28 kilos, which gives him great precision in his shots and great control of the ball.
But as with many athletes, the mental aspect is decisive. During his semi-final at the 2024 Australian Open against Djokovic, he missed a match point and finally lost the 3rd set. Where many athletes could have mentally broken down, he held back and finally won an hour later in four sets. His preparation is therefore particularly valuable and he can thank Riccardo Ceccarelli, sports doctor and specialist in psychology.
This man is not unknown and even has a very great reputation since he was quite simply the “brain engineer” of Ayrton Senna, former Formula 1 legend. He still works in the industry with drivers like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
“Thanks to a study carried out by two big names in neuroscience from the University of Pisa, professors Pietro Pietrini and Emiliano Ricciardi, we have understood what differentiates a leader in his discipline from a normal athlete at the cerebral level. In tennis, as in Formula 1, performance depends more on the brain than on the muscles : once the body is trained, it’s mostly a question of the mind. We say ‘mens sana in corpore sano’ (“a healthy mind in a healthy body”, Editor’s note), but the opposite is also true” explained Riccardo Ceccarelli on Eurosport.
This collaboration between the two men began in 2020 at the instigation of Jannik Sinner’s mentor, Riccardo Piatti, who saw very high potential in Jannik Sinner. This potential is perfectly managed by the player who also receives praise from his trainer. “I rarely have a boy as sure and determined as him, despite his young age. If this journey that we are taking together bears fruit, the credit goes largely to him because he has the will to ask questions to achieve her goals”. The Italian’s goals now seem to grow from year to year…