ATP Player of the Year Countdown, No. 3: Jannik Sinner

2023 By The Numbers

• 64-15: Overall win-loss record
• 12-4: Grand Slam win-loss record (AO 4R, RG 2R, W SF, USO 4R)
• 4: Titles (Montpellier, Toronto, Beijing, Vienna)
• 3: Runner-ups (Rotterdam, Miami, ATP Finals)
• 5-1: Record in deciding sets against Novak Djokovic (2-0), Carlos Alcaraz (1-0) and Daniil Medvedev (2-1)
• 24: Voting points in ATP Player of the Year Countdown (See "The Voters' Thoughts" below for more.)

Tracy's Take

For several years, we’ve been calling Jannik Sinner the future of tennis. Well, 2023 revealed that the future is now.

This was Sinner’s breakthrough season into the elite. At Wimbledon, a first Grand Slam semifinal. In Toronto, a first Masters 1000 title. At the ATP Finals, a first win over Novak Djokovic. And to cap it all off, he went 3-0 in the Davis Cup Finals to lead Italy to its first title since 1976—25 years before Sinner was born.

Jannik took major strides in every category this year. Previously, there were times he’d come up short at the majors in long, memorable matches. Sinner has always been a bold  ball-striker, playing with the fearless mentality of a ski racer. But his consistency improved in ’23, along with his slice backhand, volley and serve. Lots of credit for that goes to the hard work he’s put in with his coaches, Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill. It’s great to see the ways he continues to put it all together.—Tracy Austin, Hall of Famer and former No. 1

The Voters' Thoughts

👉 Ten voters from the TENNIS.com editorial team each selected five players for our 2023 ATP Player of the Year vote. Each voters' first-place selection was worth 5 points, second-place vote 4 points, and so forth. Selected commentary from voters will be included in each 2023 ATP Player of the Year write-up.

Compared to most in his age group, Sinner is more mature. The 22-year-old knows how to handle the big moments, and was extremely competitive across all surfaces and situations throughout the year.—Liya Davidov

Has anyone ever snuck into the Top 5 as quietly as Sinner? On the way, he navigated around the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune.—Peter Bodo

The Italian had a winning record (2-1) against Carlos Alcaraz and went 2-2 against Novak Djokovic. As those two threatened to pull away from the pack, Sinner crashed their party, and reached a career-high No. 4 along the way.—Megan Fernandez

After a 64-win season that included four titles and going 7-5 against the men ranked in front of him, the next logical step is challenging the Top 3 during the final weekends of Slams.—Matt Fitzgerald