Jannik Sinner (24) is set to compete in his seventh Grand Slam final on Sunday when he faces French Open champion Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon, with the Italian world number one targeting his fifth major title.

The South Tyrol native has become one of the dominant forces in men’s tennis alongside Carlos Alcaraz, though the Spaniard has missed the past two Grand Slams through injury. Alcaraz currently holds seven major titles to Sinner’s four.

While Alcaraz draws crowds with his high-risk style and showmanship, Sinner has built his reputation on relentless baseline power and an ice-cold demeanour on court. Off it, he remains mild-mannered and refreshingly unfazed by the pressure.

“I am very relaxed. Look, I don’t have anything that I’m doing the same over and over again,” Sinner said ahead of Sunday’s final. “I also enjoy the moment, because I know how rare these days are. Grand Slam finals, they are tough to achieve and to arrive.”

The Italian has spent 79 weeks as world number one, 13 more than Alcaraz. Earlier this year he became only the second player in history after Novak Djokovic to complete a career clean sweep of all nine Masters 1 000 titles.

Sinner’s recent form at Masters level has been exceptional, with six consecutive tournament wins and 34 straight match victories. However, his Grand Slam performances this year had been mixed before Wimbledon. A five-set semi-final loss to Djokovic at the Australian Open was followed by a shocking second-round exit to Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open, despite holding a two-set lead and being 5-1 up in the third.

Last year proved more successful. Sinner defended his Australian Open title in January before losing an epic French Open final to Alcaraz. He got his revenge at Wimbledon, defeating the Spaniard to claim his first championship at the All England Club.

His career was interrupted early in 2025 when he served a three-month ban after twice testing positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol in 2024. Sinner maintained the substance entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing clostebol to treat a cut.

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The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted that “Sinner did not intend to cheat” but imposed the suspension as athletes are responsible for the actions of their support staff.

Born in German-speaking San Candido in northern Italy near the Austrian border, Sinner’s path to tennis stardom was not straightforward. He was a champion skier as a youngster and still enjoys hitting the slopes during the off-season. Football was another passion before tennis took over.

The 191-centimetre right-hander won his first ATP title indoors in Sofia in 2020. His breakthrough came in 2024 when he claimed his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open, followed by seven other titles including the US Open. He became Italy’s first world number one in June 2024.

What sets Sinner apart is his ability to remain calm under pressure. His court presence is measured and composed, rarely showing emotion even in the tensest moments.

Despite the professional demands, Sinner insists tennis remains a passion rather than just work. “I’m very lucky because tennis started off a hobby when I was young, and now it becomes my job,” he said. “In my mind it’s still a hobby. I love to go on court and just play. There is no better place to do it than in big stadiums with packed crowd.”