"As soon as I got there, I started crying, I called my parents after 2 hours" – Jannik Sinner recounts leaving home at the age of 13

Jannik Sinner recently opened up about leaving his hometown at a young age to receive professional tennis training.

Sinner grew up in the Italian village of Sexten. However, he moved to Bordighera to train at Riccardo Piatti's tennis academy at the age of 13. At the time, Piatti was coaching Milos Raonic after having worked with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Ivan Ljubicic, and Richard Gasquet.

The reigning Australian Open champion recently answered a few questions during a conversation with Vanity Fair. Among other things, he touched upon the emotions he experienced after moving away from his mother Siglinde and father Johann.

He recounted calling his parents a couple of hours after reaching Bordighera.

"It was tough for them [my parents] too. I was 13 and a half years old, and the truth is that as soon as I got there I started crying, I called them after two hours. "They must have thought, 'Here, we have to go get him'. Instead, I told him to be calm, that everything was fine," Sinner said (quotes translated from Italian).

Sinner mentioned that he moved into Luka Cvjetkovic's place in Bordighera. Cvjetkovic was among the many tutors helping budding champions evolve at Riccardo Piatti's academy. The Italian stated that he enjoyed staying with Cvjetkovic's family:

"I was lucky enough to stay in a fantastic family, that of Luka Cvjetkovic: there were two children and also a dog. I was happy, I'd never had a dog before..."

Sinner worked under Piatti's tutelage till 2022. He then roped in Simone Vagnozzi and former World No. 22 Darren Cahill as coaches.

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Jannik Sinner wins 12th title of his career

Jannik Sinner lifts the Rotterdam Open men's singles trophy

Jannik Sinner was crowned the Rotterdam Open 2024 champion on Sunday, February 18. This is his second title in 2024 and 12th tournament win overall.

He defeated Australia's Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4 in the final after going past the likes of Tallon Griekspoor, Milos Raonic, and Gael Monfils.

It was a long grind for the Italian against an in-form de Minaur as both sets went over the one-hour mark. He was broken twice during the match but Sinner in turn broke the Australian four times.

This was notably Sinner's seventh straight win over de Minaur. They first took on each other in the final of the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019. Sinner won that match 4-2, 4-1, 4-2.