Tennis News: Jannik Sinner, Rennae Stubbs and Nick Kyrgios
By Lee Vowell
Jannik Sinner is clearly ascending and he might end up at the top of the tennis world by the end of the year. He also seems to be playing tournaments with forethought instead of simply playing every one he can simply to try to earn more rankings points. So far in 2024, Sinner has played in only two events and has won both.
This likely has helped his on-court ability to focus on each match. He is not so tired that he is rushing through points. He allows the game to come to him and does not get stressed. This is the kind of mentality that many iconic players have had and at only 22 years old, the Italian appears on his way to becoming an icon himself.
But former player and former Serena Williams coach Rennae Stubbs is most impressed by Sinner's ability to think tennis first off the court many times. For instance, instead of accepting an invitation to go to Italy's Sanremo Music Festival, Sinner passed so he could prepare for the Rotterdam Open in February. Sinner, of course, won the tournament.
Rennae Stubbs has issues with Nick Kyrgios but praises Jannik Sinner
On a recent episode of her podcast, Racquet's Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs said of Sinner, "It’s a big honor to be invited to the Sanremo Music Festival. As anybody, not just as an artist. And Jannik actually didn’t take the invitation. He refused to come because he had to train to go to Rotterdam...I really respect it and then seeing him win Rotterdam was like, yeah he did the right thing."
One player that Stubbs did not praise, though, was Nick Kyrgios. It appears Kyrgios might have agreed with something Andrew Tate posted on social media. Tate has become a popular online presence but he has also been accused of some really serious crimes, including rape, and he has recently been jailed in Romania.
Kyrgios, of course, appears to like drumming up controversy but with his reaction to Tate, he may have stepped too far. The issue is that there is more than one side to Kyrgios because as a commentator he is well-spoken and understands the medium. Stubbs said she spoke with the Australian player during coverage for the Australian Open and found him to be pleasant. But she was miffed about the Tate issue.
On her podcast, Stubbs said, "I don’t even know if it surprised me, just that it disgusted me. Nick is that kind of guy. He's such an enigma...You can really have a nice conversation with him...So you think okay, ‘He's not a bad guy; Nick's a decent guy.’ And then he does stuff like that, and you're like, ‘What the h**l, dude?'"