Watch: Video of Jannik Sinner skiing effortlessly as a youngster surfaces online

Jannik Sinner has been rising up the tennis ranks at a dramatic pace over the last couple years. He has jumped more than 500 spots since the start of 2018, and is currently placed at No. 22 in the world.

However, not everyone would be aware that Sinner spent most of his early years focusing on skiing rather than tennis. The Italian was a very capable skier as well; he won a national skiing championship when he was eight, and was ranked very high in his age group before turning his attention to tennis.

A video of Jannik Sinner skiing as a youngster has now surfaced online, in which he can be seen moving around the slopes with the same ease and balance that he displays on the tennis court now. Here is a look at Sinner's prodigious skiing skills:

SINcredible on the slopes ⛷@janniksin was a champion skier before rising through the tennis ranks! pic.twitter.com/Hg960EAU55

— ITF (@ITFTennis) April 11, 2021

In an interview with Roland Garros last year, Jannik Sinner spoke about his reasons for leaving skiing and pursuing tennis.

"It was dangerous," Sinner had said. "If you fall wrong, you can put away a whole season. And in tennis, you can always play, you can play indoors, or outdoors. The most important thing is, in tennis, you can see the opponent. You can see who you are playing against. You know if you are up in the score, or down in the score, if you are going to have to change something, or not."

"And in skiing, you just go down alone, and you don’t know if you are faster than the other ones, or slower than the other ones," he added. "You just see red and blue targets, and you have to turn your skis, and hopefully not fall down."

Jannik Sinner to kick off his 2021 claycourt campaign in Monte Carlo against Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Jannik Sinner at the 2020 French Open

After reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami earlier this month, Jannik Sinner will begin his claycourt campaign at this week's Monte Carlo Masters. In the first round Sinner is drawn to meet Spanish veteran Albert Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 46th in the world. This will be the first meeting between the two players.

The winner of that match will meet World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round. Sinner, who reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros last year in his debut appearance at the tournament (losing to Rafael Nadal), has never faced Djokovic on the tour. That said, the two have trained together in the past.

Novak: I haven’t practiced with Sinner a lot for the last year and a half, but before that, we used to train together often. He is a nice person, devoted and hard working. He is surrounded with the right people, he is ambitious, and I think he has what it takes to be a champ.

— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) April 11, 2021