Jannik Sinner steps into an ever-growing spotlight with the means to back it up

Looking back, looking forward. With the 2024 ATP season in the books, Joel Drucker has nine notable storylines to consider over the next few weeks—before the next year of men's tennis begins. (On mobile devices, scroll down to read more ATP takeways; on desktop, you'll see additional entires on the left side of your screen.)

With power and poise, a significantly improved serve, and increasing traces of savvy in the front part of the court, Jannik Sinner’s year evokes a statement once made by President Theodore Roosevelt: “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”

From a title run at the Australian Open, on through to victory at the US Open and another six tournament wins, the 23-year-old Italian was both tenacious and dominant.

In Melbourne, Sinner dismantled Djokovic in the semis and then competed superbly in the finals, rallying from two sets to love down to beat Daniil Medvedev. A semifinal run at Roland Garros and a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon were mid-points towards a great summer–first a title in Cincinnati, then capped off in New York. Versus Taylor Fritz in the final, Sinner was thoroughly in control, Fritz scarcely denting him. Ditto at the ATP Finals, where Sinner became the first man since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win that title without the loss of a set.

With a WADA appeal underway, the issue of Sinner testing positive for a banned substance will remain in the news for an uncertain length of time.

“It was and it's still a little bit in my mind,” Sinner said following the US Open final. “It's not that it's gone, but when I'm on court, I try to focus about the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way, communication with the team, in practice courts.”

In addition to that, having now finished the year ranked number one in the world for the first time, Sinner is about to face a far brighter spotlight and it will be fascinating to see how that affects him. A recent story in The Athletic cited Sinner as having ten corporate partnership agreements.

But inside the lines, 2024 was a strong indication of just how impregnable Sinner can be.