Jannik Sinner Reveals If He’d Like to Be Winter Sports Olympian than Tennis Player in ‘Alternate Universe’

Jannik Sinner is bidding to win his first title of the season after his failed Australian Open title defense.

Jannik Sinner Reveals If He’d Like to Be Winter Sports Olympian than Tennis Player in ‘Alternate Universe’

Jannik Sinner (Image via Vogue)

In Short
  • Jannik Sinner is competing in the Qatar Open, having received $1.2 million in appearance fees.
  • He expressed a desire to ski more but is cautious about injuries affecting his tennis career.
  • Sinner missed last year's Qatar Open due to a three-month doping ban and is aiming for his eighth ATP 500 title.

Jannik Sinner is currently participating in the Qatar Open, for which he reportedly received $1.2 million in appearance fees, along with Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian first knocked out Tomas Machac and improved his head-to-head record to 3-0. He will next be locking horns with Alexei Popyrin, against whom he holds a 1-1 head-to-head record.

In Sinner’s homeland, the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are underway. Sinner has been following sports a lot, especially skiing, and even changed his training schedule to watch the event. The 24-year-old used to be one of the best junior skiers and even won the national championship in giant slalom at eight.

Prior to playing his first match in Doha, Sinner was asked during his interview on Tennis TV whether, in an alternate universe, he would like to be an Olympian in winter sports rather than a tennis player.

It always depends on results, right? Honestly, I’m very happy being a tennis player. Even though if I see the Winter Olympics, they’re very impressive. Especially being in Italy… being an Italian, you see the tension. It’s impressive in every sport there is on. It’s incredible to watch. I would love to ski a bit more.

Although Sinner loves to be on the slopes, he is not skiing as much as he would like to because of his fear of getting injured.

Every winter I have this feeling that going to ski is something very, very beautiful. But I also have to be very careful. Things can change very, very quickly and go wrong very quickly. But it’s beautiful. Watching on TV is a bit more relaxing, I would say. I’m very happy to be a bit outside, to see it from a bit far.

Jannik Sinner added

Sinner had missed the Qatar Open last year because of his three-month doping ban. He is chasing his eighth ATP 500 title, last winning a title at this level at the Vienna Open by defeating Alexander Zverev.

Moise Kouame identifies most with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Gael Monfils

Moise Kouame, the 16-year-old ATP player from France, earned his first win on the Challenger circuit. After defeating Matej Dodig in the opening round of the Play In Challenger in Lille, Kouame became the first player born in 2009 to win a Challenger match.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (2)
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Jannik Sinner HQ)

He is now set to lock horns with Joel Schwaerzler. Kouame recently sat for an interview with L’Equipe during which he revealed the names of the players his game resembles: Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils.

There is a little bit of Gael in me, a bit of Djokovic, a bit of Sinner, a bit of Alcaraz, and above all, there’s a lot of Moise Kouame. That’s the most important thing. My identity matters a lot to me, my own identity. I hope that in 10-20 years, young players can say that there’s a Kouame in their game. That’s truly the identity I want to create as I grow older.

Alcaraz is also in Doha, playing the ATP 500 tournament for the second time. Last year, he lost to Jiri Lehecka in the last eight. The last time he won an ATP 500 title was at the 2025 Japan Open by beating America’s Taylor Fritz. Sinner and Alcaraz will only meet if they both advance to the final, and it will mark their 17th clash on the ATP Tour. The seven-time Grand Slam champion holds a 10-6 head-to-head lead over Sinner.

Djokovic was also scheduled to play the Doha tournament, but he decided to withdraw from it. He suffered an opening-round defeat in the tournament last year.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Reacts to Potential Clash with Jannik Sinner in the Final of the Qatar Open