‘Jannik Sinner reminded me of Venus Williams’ reveals Italian tennis chief
The head of the Italian Tennis Federation has revealed that a young Jannik Sinner “reminded” him of tennis icon Venus Williams.
Sinner has developed into one of the dominant forces in the men’s game, winning two Grand Slam titles and rising to world No 1 in 2024.
The 23-year-old was long recognised as a future star as a junior, though – like many young talents – there were potential limitations in his game.
Italian tennis chief and former player Angelo Binaghi first met Sinner when the latter was still a teenager, shortly after he lifted the Next Gen ATP Finals title five years ago.
Speaking to Ubitennis, Binaghi recalled that first meeting, and revealed that he believed Sinner had progressed similarly to former WTA No 1 Williams in improving his athleticism.
“We saw each other in the locker room during the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019,” said Binaghi. “He was the first Italian to win this competition, and so I went to congratulate him.
“He struck me for his education and simplicity. On the court, you could already see his enormous value, from a technical point of view he was of a very high level. However, he still had to fill some physical gaps, he was a bit immature.
“He reminded me a bit of Venus Williams: incredible potential, but athletic difficulties in covering the court. Now in his movement, he is a rocket, he has improved his service and he is also incisive at the net.”
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Sinner won eight titles in 2024 – four more than anyone else – and won 73 of his 79 singles matches, a win rate of 92.4%.
The Italian has now spent 28 weeks as the world No 1, a total that looks set to increase significantly across 2025.
Throughout the early stages of his career, Sinner often found himself overshadowed by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz.
However, Binaghi always backed his compatriot to achieve great things.
He added: “It was the period in which Alcaraz had exploded, and everyone was obsessed with the Spaniard; Spectacular, solid, very fast, gritty.
“But to those who said maybe we could have someone like that in Italy, I replied: ‘Sinner for life. Give him time, and we’ll talk about it again.’
“And even when everyone said bad things about him because he decided not to play the Davis Cup, I defended him tooth and nail: ‘Leave him alone, let him train calmly – the results will come. Sinner has something special.’
“He’s a really nice guy. It’s no coincidence that people love him so much and he’s a positive role model for sports and for kids.”
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