{"id":66740,"date":"2026-09-06T02:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/66740\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T02:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:01:11","slug":"inspiring-story-of-the-day-i-wish-everyone-could-have-parents-like-mine-because-they-always-let-me-choose-whatever-i-wanted-how-jannik-sinner-turned-leaving-home-at-fourteen-int","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/66740\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring story of the day: \u201cI wish everyone could have parents like mine, because they always let me choose whatever I wanted.\u201d – How Jannik Sinner turned leaving home at fourteen into tennis history | International Sports News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"InspiringInspiring story of the day: \u201cI wish everyone could have parents like mine, because they always let me choose whatever I wanted.\u201d – How Jannik Sinner turned leaving home at fourteen into tennis history Jannik Sinner\u2019s rise to the top of tennis has a story that goes far beyond Grand Slam trophies. The Italian, now the World No. 1 and a five-time major champion, grew up in South Tyrol, where his parents worked long hours and taught him the value of hard work. But they did something just as important: they never forced him to choose tennis. Sinner first became a strong young skier before deciding that tennis was the sport he wanted to follow. At 14, he left home to train in Bordighera, starting a difficult new chapter on his own.<\/p>\n

How did Hanspeter and Siglinde Sinner shape Jannik Sinner\u2019s work ethic<\/p>\n

Jannik Sinner grew up in Sexten, also known as Sesto, in South Tyrol, close to the Dolomites. His childhood was very different from the image many people have of a future tennis star. His parents, Hanspeter Sinner and Siglinde Sinner, worked in a mountain lodge. His father was a chef, while his mother worked as a waitress.Their jobs meant long days and plenty of work. Sinner has often spoken about seeing that effort when he was young. His parents did not need to give him long speeches about discipline. He simply watched them work and learned from what they did every day.Speaking about that part of his childhood, Sinner said:\u201cMy parents are special because when I came back from school, they were not there-they were working\u2026 That\u2019s the kind of mentality they gave me: \u2018If you want to reach something, you have to work.\u2019 This kind of work ethic you can learn, but most of the time it\u2019s because your parents give it to you. They are always working, and that\u2019s what I love about them.\u201dThat lesson stayed with him as tennis became more serious. His parents showed him that progress comes from turning up and doing the work, even when nobody is watching.<\/p>\n

Why did Jannik Sinner leave skiing and choose tennis<\/p>\n

Tennis was not Sinner\u2019s only sporting interest as a child. Skiing was a major part of his early life, and he became a highly talented young skier. He also played football. At one point, skiing was ahead of tennis in his sporting priorities.Sinner eventually began to see tennis differently. He liked having more control over what happened during a match and being able to respond directly to an opponent. Skiing, by comparison, gave him one fast run where a mistake could end everything.The decision became much bigger when Sinner chose to focus on tennis. He left his family in South Tyrol and moved to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to train at Riccardo Piatti\u2019s tennis centre. He was only 14.That meant growing up faster than most teenagers. He had to handle everyday things away from his parents, including cooking and doing his own laundry. It was also the first time he had to deal with being away from his family for long periods.Sinner later explained just how difficult that change was:\u201cI went away from home when I was 14 years old. I had to grow up quite fast, trying to cook for myself, trying to make laundry\u2026 It was tough for me, but for my parents to leave their son at 14, it was also not easy. And they never put pressure on me, which for me is maybe the key to why I\u2019m here today.\u201dHis parents had to trust a teenage son to make a major decision about his own future. That trust became one of the biggest parts of Sinner\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

What did Jannik Sinner say about his parents after winning his first Grand Slam<\/p>\n

The meaning of that freedom became especially clear at the 2024 Australian Open. Sinner had just beaten Daniil Medvedev after losing the first two sets of the final. Instead of using his first Grand Slam victory only to talk about himself, he turned his attention to his parents.The Australian Open recorded Sinner\u2019s emotional message during the trophy ceremony, when he spoke about the freedom his parents had given him.Holding the trophy, Sinner said:\u201cI wish that everyone could have my parents because they always let me choose whatever I wanted. Even when I was younger, I played other sports and they never put pressure on me. I wish that this freedom is possible for as many young kids as possible. Thank you so much to my parents.\u201dThose words explained something important about his upbringing. Sinner was not pushed into tennis from the beginning. His parents allowed him to try different sports and eventually decide what mattered most to him.The victory also showed how far that decision had taken him. Sinner came back from two sets down to beat Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and win his first major title.<\/p>\n

How has Jannik Sinner\u2019s family support stayed with him at the top<\/p>\n

Sinner\u2019s success did not change the basic values he learned at home. His father continued his work as a chef, while his mother remained involved in the family guesthouse. Sinner has also spoken about wanting to make up for the family time they lost when he left home so young.In 2026, his parents remained an important part of his story. After winning the Madrid title in May, Sinner again spoke about the sacrifices they made when he was a teenager and about how difficult it was for them to let him leave home. The ATP Tour reported those comments as Sinner reflected on his mother and father.The results since that first major have been extraordinary. Sinner has gone from a teenager leaving the Dolomites to becoming the World No. 1. In July 2026, he beat Alexander Zverev to win his second straight Wimbledon title and his fifth Grand Slam. He also became the first player to win the first five ATP Masters 1000 events of the 2026 season.His current position in tennis makes the lesson from his childhood even more striking. Sinner was given freedom before he was given fame. His parents let him try skiing, football and tennis, and when he decided that tennis was his future, they supported a decision that meant letting him leave home at 14.That does not mean his journey was easy. It meant he had to take responsibility for the choice he made. The work ethic he saw from his parents gave him one foundation, while their trust gave him another. Together, those two things helped shape the player he became.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inspiring story of the day: \u201cI wish everyone could have parents like mine, because they always let me…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[391,219,25705,4643,9610,3070,1542],"class_list":["post-66740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jannik-sinner","tag-grand-slam-champion","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-parental-support-in-sports","tag-tennis-history","tag-tennis-training","tag-world-no-1","tag-youth-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}