Is Jannik Sinner ‘too boring’ to be a sporting superstar? An uncomfortable truth

Kevin Palmer
Jannik Sinner hits a forehand at the Australian Open
Jannik Sinner hits a forehand

It is harder to love a sportsman who is as close to perfect as it gets.

As Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open title, the predictability of the outcome stripped away much of the joy we all want to get from watching top level sport, with the best player in tennis simply too good for any opponent put in front of him.

We all like to see cracks in the make-up of our heroes and wait for those moments of emotion when they show the kind of frailties we mere mortals are so familiar with.

Everyone doubts themselves at times in whatever line of work they do, but the true greats of sports are better at disguising that insecurity than the rest of us.

Novak Djokovic displayed these qualities time and again as he took on and regularly beat the majestic duo of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, while also fending off negativity from spectators hoping he would lose against the big two.

It was hard not to marvel at Djokovic’s ability to cut out the dissent rushing towards him and still find a way to win Grand Slam titles, but it was also tough for some to warm to a champion who often appeared to be machine-like in his efficiency.

Federer’s brilliance was easy to identify as he served up the most perfect version of tennis we had ever seen and Nadal’s all-action approach was equally appealing, yet Djokovic was their kryptonite… and people loathed him for being as good as he was.

Roll the clock forward to 2025 and we are seeing a similar story play out with world No 1 Sinner.

While the 23-year-old has yet to get the kind of unwarranted jeers and boos from fans that have become the norm for Djokovic down the years, his relentless winning at the top of the men’s game is not setting the pulse racing in the same way Federer and Nadal did when they were in their prime.

Sinner’s brilliant victory against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final secured his third Grand Slam title, with his dominance highlighted by his success in winning a trio of the last five major titles in men’s tennis.

Yet Sinner’s affirmation as king of men’s tennis will not deliver global headlines to compare to the ripples Grand Slam successes by Federer and Nadal when they won their big titles.

Sinner is a brilliant tennis player, but he is also hard to warm to.

He’s wonderfully polite, he is always gracious in his dealings with the media and even after the two failed drug tests that could see him handed a one-year ban from the sport when his case is decided upon in April, he rarley seems to lose his cool.

Yet in a social media age where we want to see emotion and like to see under the skin of our sporting giants, Sinner fails to give us what we want.

He doesn’t post memes of silly dances with his mates on TikTok or play the media game that trades on likes and followers and to those looking for more than just a tennis player oozing brilliance at every level, he could be guilty of suffering from a trait that is never positive.

Being boringly brilliant is working perfectly for Sinner right now as he continues to collect the big titles and win more money than anyone could dream about in tennis, but is he the dynamic, exciting hero young kids want to follow?

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic took tennis to a global audience that paid attention to their successes even if they were not regular fans of the sport.

For now, Sinner is very much a superstar appreciated by those who live in the tennis bubble, with his emotionless brilliance as pure as any champion we have seen.

This remarkable player hits his ground shots as hard as anyone we have seen in the history of the sport, with his forehand a sledgehammer no rival can contend with. 

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His much-improved serve is now one of his big weapons and he delivers his fearsome brilliance with showing a hint of emotion and rarely making an error.

Yet ask non-tennis fans to name their top five players in the sport and it is unlikely Sinner would be on their list.

Carlos Alcaraz has made a bigger breakthrough in the wider public with his engaging personality and all-action tennis style, but Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Serena Williams would probably still be the top four stars of tennis to a wider audience and three of those have retired from the sport.

Years of winning may allow the world to warm to the ice-cool Sinner but for now, he may be better known to non-tennis fans as the guy who failed two drugs tests and ‘got away with it’ than a tennis player who has taken the game to the next level.

Sinner’s legacy may well be dictated by the outcome of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal against his non-suspension from tennis following his positive doping test last March and there is a real possibility that the defence of his Australian Open title may be the final time he plays in a Grand Slam tournament until the 2026 French Open.

Such an outcome would leave a major scar on the reputation of Sinner and tennis, as the superstar who doesn’t want to be in the limelight finds himself plunged into the only battle he may not be able to win.

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