Jannik Sinner remains hugely popular with supporters.
Jannik Sinner has had a superb 2024 season on the court, (Image: Getty)
The fallout over Jannik Sinner’s doping scandal hasn’t appeared to impact his popularity with tennis fans. The Italian has been voted the Fans’ Favourite singles player in the annual ATP Awards, retaining the title he also won in 2023.
The award category has been running since 2000, and yet Sinner is one of just five different names on the trophy.
That’s because of Roger Federer’s unprecedented following in the sport, with the Swiss maestro winning the honour for 19 consecutive seasons before Rafael Nadal took the vote in 2022.
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Prior to Federer’s domination of the silverware, Gustavo Kuerten had won the inaugural version in 2000 before Marit Safin prevailed in the following two years. And after he was named the recipient again, Sinner released a statement of gratitude to those who had backed him.
“I just want to thank all the fans around the world for voting for me,” he said. “It means so much to me because the votes are coming from all of you. You are the reason why I love to play tennis. The support has been amazing throughout this whole season.”
But his latest triumph may be considered a surprise given the ill-feeling that lingers from him escaping a suspension in 2024 despite testing positive for a banned substance in March.
The Italian successfully argued to the ITIA that he was not at fault for traces of clostebol being present in his system, explaining his physio had administered him a massage while the substance was on his hands.
Roger Federer won the fans’ ATP award 19 times. (Image: Getty)
The World Anti Doping Agency is set to appeal the decision, meaning the world No.1 could yet face a ban between one and two years in length. In the meantime however, he continues to cement his status as the current best player in the world.
Sinner, who took home both the Most Improved Player of the Year in 2023 and was named Newcomer of the Year in 2019, has also been crowned ATP Player of the Year. That honour is handed to whoever tops the rankings at the end of the year, and not by public vote.
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It follows a campaign he began with a 16-match winning streak, which included his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. He later won a second Slam at the US Open, and prevailed at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
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And while he still has a considerable way to go to match the amount of individual awards Federer racked up, Sinner did match the all-time great in one department. He won 73 of his 79 matches during 2024, and was never once beaten in straight sets.
Only Federer has previously achieved that feat in the Open Era. It’s Novak Djokovic who has taken the top award for finishing the year as world No.1 the most though, winning on eight occasions.
