Former ATP World No. 1 players welcome Jannik Sinner to the club

Jannik Sinner assumed the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career on June 10. This is a goal for most tennis players when they pick up a racquet as a child and is the result of countless hours of practice and work.

Sinner's inaugural stay at World No. 1 did not go unnoticed or uncelebrated. The ATP assembled an impressive video montage of former World No. 1 players, many we have not seen or heard from much in recent years, to congratulate Jannik Sinner.

The American greats, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, and Andy Roddick are there. The European and Aussie greats including Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Pat Rafter, and Lleyton Hewit also speak to Sinner via video. Daniil Medvedev is the lone current player and former World No. 1 who appeared on the video.

Former World No. 1 players share common messages for Jannik Sinner

Though tennis's former greats recorded their messages separately, they share common themes. The first is the recognition of hard work realized; all of the players admitted it was their dream to be World No. 1 and admitted to being proud of achieving it, just as Sinner should be.

Those who know Sinner personally because of their work in tennis media like McEnroe, Courier, and Roddick talk about Sinner's character and how he carries himself with class as he rises to the peak of the sport.

There are some humorous tidbits on the video. Pat Rafter hoped that Sinner would be World No. 1 longer than he was. Rafter held the position for one week.

Many of Sinner's current peers who have been World No. 1, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Carlos Alcaraz do not appear in the video. Also missing is Pete Sampras who is fighting larger battles as he recently shared the heartwrenching news that his wife Bridgette Wilson is fighting ovarian cancer.

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