ROME — Jannik Sinner’s decision not to play in the Davis Cup Final Eight for hosts Italy has been met with a feeling of abandonment in his home country, where he was fiercely defended when he filed a doping lawsuit earlier this year.
Second-ranked Sinner, who has led Italy to tennis’ biggest team trophy in the past two years, said he preferred preparing for next season rather than helping the Azzurri seek another title in Bologna next month.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but after Turin (where the ATP Finals are held the week before the Davis Cup), the goal is to get off to a good start in Australia,” Sinner said, referring to the Australian Open, where he is the two-time defending champion.
“I don’t think so, but a week of preparation in that period could make a difference,” Sinner told Sky Italia on Monday from Vienna, where he will be playing this week. “We have already won the Davis Cup in 2023 and 2024, and this time we made this decision together with the team.”
The front page headline in Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport translated to “Think again, sinners.”
An accompanying editorial in Gazzetta took issue with Sinner, who said he had already won the Davis Cup twice, noting that he defended his title over the weekend in a lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
“Aren’t you going to pay another $6 million to go back to Riyadh? And if you win Wimbledon, you’re not going to London? Pasta, coffee… promote an Italian product every five minutes. Do it with tennis,” the Gazzetta editorial said, referring to several Italian brands that Sinner represents on TV and other advertising.
“This is a huge blow to Italian sport,” added Nicola Pietrangeli, 92, a two-time French Open champion and Italy’s most successful player until Sinner’s arrival.
When Sinner was handed a three-month suspension for doping in February, Italians widely defended him, but other top players suggested he was receiving preferential treatment because of his status and the length of his suspension, meaning he never missed a Grand Slam tournament.
This is not the first time Sinner has been criticized for not representing Italy. That happened when he didn’t play in the Davis Cup in 2023, and it also happened a year later when he didn’t play in the Paris Olympics.
Growing up in the German-speaking region of Alto Adige in northern Italy, Sinner also faced an underlying feeling that she was not fully Italian.
Just last month, an Italian rapper was accused of inciting racial hatred after releasing lyrics for music in which Thinner spoke in an “Adolf Hitler accent.” Rapper Fedez later apologized.
Adriano Panatta, who led Italy to their only Davis Cup victory in 1976, defended Sinner’s choice, noting that competition within the team was not as important as it was during his playing days.
“Today’s tennis demands complete dedication from players. Players are like the CEOs of the companies that bear their names,” Panatta wrote in Corriere della Sera magazine. “Sinner is a two-time Davis Cup champion and now needs a break to prepare for his main goals: winning the Slam, playing to the level of (Carlos) Alcaraz and getting back to number one. These are his priorities.”
Paolo Bertolucci, who also played on the 1976 team and is now a TV commentator, agreed with Panatta’s opinion.
“I see no problem with this decision,” Bertolucci told Gazzetta. “Tennis has changed. What’s important today is the Grand Slam and the ATP Finals. The rest are secondary.”