Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a return throughout the third round men’s singles match against Jenson Brooksby of america on the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 3, 2026.(AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
LONDON — Clay, grass, hard court — and even snow.
The surface underfoot doesn’t appear to make any difference for Jannik Sinner.
The highest-ranked player — who’s currently attempting to defend his title at Wimbledon — was certainly one of Italy’s top junior skiers before he turned his attention full-time to tennis.
READ: Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner survives scare, fall to achieve 2nd round
Now Sinner excels on every sort of court and his background as a skier may need helped his tennis game.
Similar to an elite slalom skier perfectly shifting their weight forwards and backwards from one gate to the following, Sinner infrequently seems off balance as he rushes forwards and backwards across the baseline — despite his tall and lanky 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) frame.
Fellow tennis player Casper Ruud agreed that essentially the most impressive thing about Sinner is his movement.
“He’s strong also in balance and versatile to get to certain positions,” Ruud said. “He has good hip movement and knows learn how to slide (into) each corners.”
Skiing standout Lindsey Vonn also pointed to Sinner’s ability to remain in balance.
“He has a tremendous kinesthetic sense, which is a very important skill in each sports,” Vonn told The Associated Press. “He may be very aware of his body in space and time, so although he’s tall, he moves fluidly and in sync.”
READ: Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic into third round
Sinner won a national skiing championship when he was eight and placed second in Italian nationals at 12.
In a 2009 giant slalom won by Sinner, Giovanni Franzoni — the breakout downhiller of last season — finished twelfth, 4 seconds behind.
Franzoni is now the Kitzbühel downhill champion and the Olympic silver medalist.
“I used to be really good,” Sinner said after his first Grand Slam title in 2024. “But then I had a few so-so seasons once I began competing against older athletes in slalom and giant slalom and when downhill got here into the image I weighed too little to compete.
“So I kept on playing tennis,” Sinner added. “In skiing, should you make a mistake you’re out; it’s a dangerous sport and it’s good to rise up early within the morning and enterprise outside in frigid temperatures. Tennis is a little more accessible. In the long run I feel I made the proper alternative.”
Vonn, who shares a standard sponsor with Sinner, once hit the slopes with the tennis star.
READ: Jannik Sinner struggles with dizziness in French Open loss
“He skis similarly to how he plays tennis; he’s fluid, smooth, and makes it look easy,” Vonn said in written comments. “His knees and hips are at all times parallel and he’s at all times in balance. I actually enjoyed skiing with him and I hope to do it again, but after his tennis profession!”
Many elite skiers include tennis of their summer training regimen. Vonn’s fellow Olympic champion Bode Miller was a state highschool champion tennis player in Maine and his family ran a tennis academy in Recent Hampshire. He once attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open.
“I really like playing tennis. It’s good for my footwork, mental strength and general athleticism,” Vonn said. “I do know of quite just a few skiers who play tennis as a type of cross training. It’s a method to push myself physically and mentally. If you get physically drained, you could have to still be mentally strategic and funky under pressure. I really like that about tennis.”
Vonn was the highest World Cup downhiller last season at age 41 until her horrific crash on the Milan Cortina Olympics in February left her with a severely fractured left leg.
Ruud, who’s Norwegian, was also a skier as a child, “but I don’t move pretty much as good as him,” he said of Sinner.
“I don’t necessarily consider because he did skiing when he was young, that’s why he moves so well,” Ruud said. “I mean, have a look at (Carlos) Alcaraz: He didn’t ski and he also moves pretty rattling well.”
Ultimately, Ruud suggested, it’s just healthy for youths to try as many sports as they’ll.
“Irrespective of what it’s, whether it’s skiing, running, golf. Doing things that keep you lively is great. I actually have never seen Jannik ski aside from videos. Can be fun to do a skiing competition someday,” Ruud said with a smile.
Kostyuk’s gymnastics and backflips
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk does a backflip as she celebrates beating Russia’s Mirra Andreeva throughout the 2026 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament final singles match on the Caja Magica in Madrid, on May 2, 2026. (Photo by Oscar DEL POZO / AFP)
When Marta Kostyuk won the Madrid Open in May, she performed her customary title celebration: a backflip.
It was a nod to the Ukrainian player’s background in gymnastics, a sport she practiced until she was 11.
While Kostyuk appreciated the physical a part of gymnastics, it was a stressful sport for her outside the gym.
READ: Marta Kostyuk gets emotional win after missile attack at home in Ukraine
“I needed to be super skinny. I had to manage what I eat. I’d weigh myself 20-30 times a day from 8 to 10 years old,” Kostyuk said. “That had some consequences on me obviously that I needed to work through.”
Kostyuk also tore an abductor muscle while performing gymnastics as a child, which she called “a very big injury.
“That had also consequences in my profession,” she said. “I fixed them nevertheless it took some time. I don’t find out about Jannik and if he ever got any bad injuries but I’ve been there so there’s at all times two sides. But of course it helped my tennis and I’m blissful that I got out on the opposite side higher.”
Cobolli’s football skills
French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli was a talented soccer player and a member of Roma’s youth club until he decided to focus fully on tennis.
“I actually have a superb physical skill and a whole lot of stamina, and perhaps football helped me (in that department),” Cobolli said.
Most of the soccer players he used to coach with as a child are professionals now and remain good friends, like Watford midfielder Edoardo Bove, Arsenal fullback Riccardo Calafiori, Atalanta winger Nicola Zalewski and Lazio winger Matteo Cancellieri.
Djokovic was also a skier
Similarly to Sinner, Novak Djokovic grew up on a ski hill in Serbia and his father was a ski racer and instructor.
Together with Djokovic, Sinner is certainly one of the few players who slides into shots on grass.
“It was at all times very natural,” Sinner said of his sliding abilities. “Perhaps the skiing was an enormous a part of (it) with the balance.”