"Parochial, shabby and shameful narrative" - Tennis fans come to Jannik Sinner's defense after Italian media criticizes his Davis Cup absence

Jannik Sinner recently faced backlash from the Italian media for his absence at this week's Davis Cup Finals, where Italy succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Canada in their first group stage tie earlier on Wednesday (September 13).

Sinner withdrew from the annual team event earlier this month due to severe fatigue from his summer hardcourt season, which culminated in a laborious five-set defeat to Alexander Zverev at the 2023 US Open.

The World No. 7's decision to not turn up for Italy's first group stage tie in Bolgona didn't sit well with the leading national daily Gazzetta dello Sport. The newspaper's prominent journalist Riccardo Crivelli attributed the host country's defeat to Sinner's absence while also listing out all of the occasions when he prioritized his health over national duty.

The journalist's indictment, however, was universally criticized by the tennis community on social media. One fan named Giuseppe expressed their disappointment with the Italian media's narrative against Sinner, calling it "parochial, shabby and shameful." They wrote:

"An Italian parochial, shabby and shameful narrative against Jannik Sinner. Let me think to some of Edgar Allan Poe' gothic writings. Luckily, he's too smart for losing time with these professional haters. The worst of the worst of lovely (?)"

Another fan asserted that it wasn't Jannik Sinner's fault that the Italian squad, which boasted of top players like Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego, was subpar against Canada.

"HOW IS IT HIS FAULT ITALY FLOPPED," they wrote.

One fan seemed to reiterate the above sentiment. They questioned Gazzetta dello Sport's decision not to criticize Musetti and Sonego for dropping their singles fixtures against Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau, respectively.

"Thrilled to see they have zero guts to even show the names of the Italian generational talents beaten by 200th ranked Canadians," they wrote, followed by a clown emoji.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

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Jannik Sinner has won nine of his 10 matches for Italy in team competitions

Jannik Sinner looks determined during a singles match at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals

The Italian media's agenda against Jannik Sinner is quite baseless if his record in national colors is anything to go by. The World No. 7 has compiled a 9-1 win-loss record when he has represented his country at the Davis Cup Finals and the ATP Cup.

Sinner first took on national duty during the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, where he had a flawless campaign. The Italian beat USA's John Isner and Colombia's Daniel Elahi Galan to help Italy top their group.

He then came from a set down to defeat former US Open champion Marin Cilic during his singles fixture in the quarterfinals. His heroic efforts, however, were laid to waste as Italy eventually succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Turin.

Jannik Sinner then went on an unbeaten at the 2022 ATP Cup, beating Australia's Max Purcell, France's Arthur Rinderknech and Russia's Roman Safiullin in his singles matches. These wins were again not enough, though, as Italy lost to Russia in the semifinals of the team event.

The Italian proceeded to beat Slovakia's Norbert Gombos and Filip Horansky in Davis Cup qualifiers to help the country make it to the main event. He then went on to beat Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo during Italy's second tie against Argentina but lost to Sweden's Mikael Ymer in their final tie.

Sinner subsequently withdrew from the 2022 Davis Cup Finals knockout matches, citing a finger injury. He was dearly missed by the Bel Paese, as they were narrowly defeated by Canada in the semifinals.