Who is in Jannik Sinners' player box in French Open SF? All you need to know about Italian's coaches & the surprise ex-Chelsea player in attendance

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are vying to win another Grand Slam in the semifinal of the 2024 French Open. The Italian had his coaches and his team in the player's box but he also had a surprise guest taking in the atmosphere at the Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz have never reached a French Open final. The pair have faced each other eight times before their last-four encounter in Paris on Friday, June 7, with their head-to-head standing at 4-4.

22-year-old Sinner and 21-year-old Alcaraz are two of the top talents in ATP currently and their starpower has transcended tennis. Apart from his team and coaches including Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, Sinner's player box also has soccer player Ruben Loftus-Cheek in attendance.

The English soccer star played for Premier League club Chelsea until 2023. He had spent his entire senior and youth career in the London club.

However, in the summer of 2023, he made a move to the Italian club AC Milan, which could be the connection between him and Sinner. The second seed is a huge AC Milan and Loftus-Cheek is providing his support to the Italian as a fellow Rossonerri.

Loftus-Cheek is not the only soccer star who has made an appearance in the stands at this year's French Open. Manchester City player Rodri was in attendance to watch Rafael Nadal during his first-round clash against Alexander Zverev.

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Jannik Sinner is a huge supporter of Serie A club AC Milan

Jannik Sinner at the 2024 French Open.

Jannik Sinner has shown his support for the Serie A club AC Milan on multiple occasions. In December 2021, he visited the club and had a chat with the players and their manager. The club even posted about it on their X account.

In May 2022, during the Italian Open, Sinner, an AC Milan fan, faced Fabio Fognini, an Inter Milan fan, in an Italian derby played on Rome's clay. Sinner won the round of 32 match 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and wrote "Forza Milan!" on a live television camera.

Further, in one of his more recent shows of support, Sinner was present in the famous San Siro in November 2023 to watch AC Milan play Borussia Dortmund in a UEFA Champions League clash. The tennis star was welcomed with chants of his name. He met Zlatan Ibrahimovic and clicked pictures with the soccer legend.

AC Milan's manager Stefano Pioli congratulated Italy's Davis Cup 2023 winning squad.

“We have to have Jannik Sinner's mentality and drive. He’s an inspirational figure due to his determination, his talent, his quality, his mentality and his desire to win every single point. If Jannik attends, we’ll be happy," Pioli said to Express.co.uk.

"In the meantime, I’d like to congratulate him, the Italy Davis Cup team and the captain, (Filippo) Volandri.”