An emotional Jannik Sinner was celebrated for earning ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours on Monday evening at the Nitto ATP Finals in front of a raucous Inalpi Arena crowd.
“It’s a nice feeling, [it is] special sharing these kinds of moments here in Italy with the crowd,” Sinner said after a memorable ceremony in which he was presented the award by ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, former World No. 1 Boris Becker and Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory at PIF Mohamed Alsayyad. “This would not be possible without all the people I have around and especially these kind of people I want to keep forever, because it has a journey from the beginning.”
Sinner’s tennis team and family, including his parents, were in the crowd. The people of Turin roared with approval as the home favourite displayed the trophy for the fans.
“I just heard that my mom was crying, which is something very cute,” Sinner said. “Only they know from my early age and stages, when I was around 13, how many sacrifices we made as a family.
“Now I’m standing here with one of the, maybe the most special trophy I have.”
On 10 June, Sinner became the first man or woman from his country to reach World No. 1 in singles since computerised rankings were introduced in 1973. He has not relinquished his place since.
The 23-year-old is the 19th player to earn year-end No. 1 honours and just the fourth active player to do so. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are the others.
“It’s a great competition between this and Grand Slams,” Sinner said. “This is a very consistent trophy. You have to play one year very consistent tennis, so this is for sure a very, very tough trophy to get.”
The ceremony coincided with the launch of the pioneering ‘ATP No. 1 Club’, which will celebrate all current and former ATP World No. 1 players in one place for their remarkable efforts to reach the pinnacle of the PIF ATP Rankings.
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