Jannik Sinner has climbed to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, becoming the first Italian to achieve the feat, Report informs referring to ATP Tour.
It is a historic moment for the 22-year-old, who is just the 29th player since the rankings’ inception in 1973 to climb to World No. 1.
Just more than five years ago, Sinner competed in an ATP Tour event for the first time. Looking back at that one event, the ATP 250 in Budapest, it was clear the Italian had a bright future.
It all began when tournament director Attila Richter received a phone call from the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation and Sinner's team. They told him about the Italian’s talent and asked if the tournament would consider giving him a wild card.
Organizers had already allocated their three main draw wild cards — one for top seed Marin Cilic and two for Hungarians — so they decided to give the 17-year-old a chance with a qualifying wild card.
“This young guy comes over super polite, super nice, very calm and quiet,” Richter recalled. “Plays incredible tennis, wins in the qualies first round, I'm not even sure who he beat but I remember it was a surprise.”