Jannik Sinner - 'In tennis, mental energy is everything' - Players' Voice

At just 20 years old, Jannik Sinner has already acquired an impressive bank of achievements. Since starting out on the ATP Tour in 2019, he’s gone on to win five titles, break into the top 10 and reach two Grand Slam quarter-finals. — — - Ad/> When I’m asked, 'Where do you want to be at the end of the year?', I always have to smile.

The outside view on how tennis players live and think is often very different to reality, or at least it is for me. My answer is that it is not a question of ranking. In fact, I really don't like talking about my ranking — I never have and I don’t think I ever will.

More than anything, I like to set goals in a broader sense. ATP RomeNadal, Ruud, Sabalenka — who needs a big week in Rome?3 HOURS AGO For example, I would like to see myself grow physically, an aspect I know I have a lot of margin for. And I would like to grow mentally too because at 20 you can't be complete.

If I could wake up and be another tennis player for a day, I would like to be Roger Federer because of his completeness. He can do everything and has all the solutions for anything that comes his way on court. Waking up as Roger Federer is, of course, a utopia, but I believe that the intention gives me the focus to become a more complete player.

I’m not saying you will suddenly see me serving and volleying, or slicing, but maybe one day, I would like to find myself in a position where I’m able to come up with my own solutions just as well. So in short, my real goal is to become a more complete player, and that is what I would like to achieve by the end of the year, as opposed to reaching a certain ranking. Thinking back to where I was two years ago, everything now feels very different — but different for the better.