"What people think, I give little importance" - Jannik Sinner dismisses criticisms against him from Italian media over Paris Olympics withdrawal

Jannik Sinner recently addressed the criticisms which were leveled against him by the Italian media over his withdrawal from the 2024 Paris Olympics. The World No.1 was supposed to make his debut at the Games this year but decided not to compete.

Sinner has already secured four titles so far this season - the Australian Open, his first Grand Slam title, the ABN AMRO Open, Miami Open, and the Terra Wortmann Open. He along with the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Arnaldi, Luciano Darderi, and others were selected to represent Italy at the Paris Olympics.

However, just before the commencement of the quadrennial event, Jannik Sinner announced his withdrawal due to a diagnosis of tonsillitis. His absence led to Andrea Vavassori replacing him in singles while Luciano Darderi came in for him in doubles.

Following his withdrawal from the Olympics, Sinner traveled to Montreal to prepare for his title defense at the 2024 Canadian Open. This decision drew criticism from fans and critics, who questioned why he could compete in Canada but not at the Olympics.

When asked about the backlash he faced over his withdrawal from the prestigious event in Paris, Jannik Sinner explained that while participating in the Olympics had been his "biggest goal" for the year, he was too ill to even leave his bed. He then stated that the opinions of others regarding his withdrawal held little significance to him

"It's a question I don't even want to have to answer honestly. I think only my team and I really know how I felt: from the outside it's one thing, from the inside it's another. I especially know how I felt. I had said since the beginning of the year that my biggest goal was the Olympics, but unfortunately I wasn't even able to get out of bed. Then honestly, what people think... let's say I give it little importance, little weight," Sinner said.

The Italian credited his decision to distance himself from social media for helping him cope with criticism .

"I'm not on social media anymore, which is something that does me a lot of good. Then I read some things anyway, it's obvious that when you open your phone there are notifications and I see something. But I also know who I am as a person and what kind of people I have around me, who all care a lot about me," Jannik Sinner said.

The World No.1 also acknowledged that both supporters and critics would be part of his career journey, and he accepted it as a natural aspect of the path he had chosen

"Unfortunately this time it went like this, there will always be some good things and some a little bit worse, like this. I understand people's reaction, I'm honest, but now I'm here in Montreal and what happened happened," he added.

Jannik Sinner starts Canadian Open title defense with a win after Paris Olympics withdrawal

Jannik SInner [Source: Getty]

After withdrawing from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Jannik Sinner successfully began his title defense at the 2024 Canadian Open. He is competing in both the singles and doubles events in Montreal and has teamed up with Jack Draper for the latter.

Sinner is the top seed in the singles event and he began his campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. He defeated Croatian qualifier Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in his opening match to secure his place in the third round where he will face 15th seed Alejandro Tabilo.

In the doubles event, the pair of Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper began their campaign by defeating the 16th-seeded Belgian pair of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-0, 6-7(3), 10-8 in the first round.

The Italian-British duo then triumphed over the pair of Alexander Bublik and Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-1 in the second round to secure their spot in the quarterfinals where they will face 14th seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.