Tobias Tappeiner died tragically: he was 24, often challenged Jannik Sinner

Terrible tragedy in the world of South Tyrolean tennis: Tobias Tappeiner, 24, lost his life in a traffic accident on the Brenner freeway. The former tennis hopeful, who had faced Jannik Sinner several times in youth competitions as a boy, was proceeding in the wrong direction along the southbound carriageway near the Bolzano South junction when he collided head-on with a car in which a family from Varna was traveling on their way to vacation. According to local press reports, the passengers sustained injuries, but none of them are reported to be in life-threatening danger.

The traffic police are working to figure out what caused the tragic maneuver. Tappeiner was familiar with that stretch of highway, which makes what happened all the more inexplicable.

The road traffic police are working to find out what caused the tragic maneuver.

Originally from St. Paul in Eppan, Tappeiner was a well-known figure in local tennis circles. An instructor at the Via Martin Knoller tennis club in Bolzano, he played in the B1 Series with TC Bolzano. In the past, he had shared tournaments and away matches with Jannik Sinner.

In 2014, during an Under-12 tournament in Brixen, Tappeiner had gotten the better of the current world No. 1, prevailing with scores of 7-6, 6-3. A photo posted on social in 2022 shows them smiling together, confirming the bond of friendship and healthy competition built together from the very beginning.