In the high-stakes world of professional tennis, Jannik Sinner has cemented his status not just with a relentless playing style, being an indoor titan and world number one, but also through the quiet support he offers his peers. His kind gestures, the heartwarming moment when he made a young fan’s day at the French Open by gifting a towel and an autograph, reveal a character grounded in empathy.

Matteo Berrettini has faced a challenging period marked by injuries and fluctuating form, most notably his withdrawal from the US Open, a struggle that led him to consider ending his career. But a simple act of camaraderie from Sinner became the unexpected catalyst that pulled him back from the brink of leaving the sport he loved.

As reported by Ubitennis, Berrettini revealed that it was in Monte Carlo, hitting with Sinner, that he experienced a profound rediscovery of his love for tennis.

“When I think about what he has done in the last two years, it’s impressive. Training with him in Monte Carlo helped me. I realized that I liked hitting the ball with my racket, the sound coming out of the strings. I really liked it. There I realized that for me it wasn’t time to leave yet,” said the Italian about his top-ranked peer.

Being in that environment did more than offer a hitting partner; it provided camaraderie and a shared focus on the pure, technical aspects of the sport. This supportive interaction likely helped pull Berrettini out of a negative mindset, allowing him to reconnect with the core elements of his identity as an athlete.

However, this isn’t the first time Sinner has shown camaraderie towards other ATP pros.

Jannik Sinner really cares about his peers

A few weeks ago at the Paris Masters, the Italian player cruised to a quick 6-0, 6-1 victory in just 61 minutes, moving on to the championship match. The semifinal against Alexander Zverev, which everyone was looking forward to, turned out to be surprisingly one-sided, just like their match in the Vienna Open final.

The German’s forehand wasn’t working, and he had a tough time getting into a groove with Sinner putting on so much pressure. Sinner took just 15 minutes to jump ahead with a 3-0 lead, and he wrapped up the first set with a score of 6-0. But after the match, Sinner did something really nice.

He wrote “Get Well Soon” on the camera lens for his opponent.

Sinner showed empathy in his comments at the court.

“When you drop the physicality like he did, you can’t find full power on the serve. Obviously, I’m happy to be in the final. But it’s not how you want to arrive. Playing against Sascha is always a special occasion. Today, he was not 100%. We saw that. He was struggling physically.”

Sinner also mentioned how tough Zverev’s schedule has been lately. “He had a very tight schedule in the past months. Yesterday he won an incredible match from 2 match points down. It’s also difficult mentally and physically. He made the final in Vienna. Semis here again. It’s an incredible run for him. We all hope he gets better and fit for Turin. From my side, I’m very happy to be in the final.”

The Italian actually beat Zverev in their latest match in Turin, 6-4, 6-3.

But even if they keep going up against each other, the respect they share will always stick around.