From Skiing to Eminem: 5 Things to Know about Sinner

Felix Auger-Aliassime currently holds the honor of being the youngest player in the ATP Top 100, at 19 years old. But there's a younger up-and-comer right on the precipice, at No. 101.

Italian 18-year-old Jannik Sinner has won 52 matches, across all levels, in 2019, and picked up four lower-tier titles. Last week in Antwerp, he had a tour-level breakthrough, scoring three straight Top-100 wins: over Kamil Majchrzak, Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe.

Sinner will definitely be a player to watch going forward, and fans will get to see how he measures up next month at the Next Gen ATP Finals, where he's set to be the wild card.

Here are some things to know about him before he goes mainstream:

1

He's already trilingual.

Sinner is from South Tyrol, an Italian province that speaks primarily German. As a result, he speaks Italian, German and English.

2

Before focusing on tennis, he was a high-level skier.

Skiing was another thing Sinner picked up from his hometown.

"In our parts, the first sport is, of course, skiing," he said in a video for the ATP Tour. "I was second in Italy, but at the end I decided to play tennis because I enjoyed it more."

3

In February and March, Sinner won three titles in a row.

Between an Italian ATP Challenger and two Italian ITF events, he put together a 16-match winning streak, all while he was still 17.

4

He has a flat forehand, a blistering two-handed backhand and a deft drop volley.

Sinner winners in this video range in speed from 94 mph to 18 mph.

5

​His outside interests are eclectic.

Sinner tells the ATP he's a fan of Prison Break, pizza, sushi, the soccer team A.C. Milan and Eminem.

Sinner is also a wild-card entry into this week's ATP 500 in Vienna. He opens against qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber.