Daniela Hantuchova Speaks Her Mind About Jannik Sinner

Former Slovak tennis player Daniela Hantuchova, in an interview with Canal Plus Sport, harshly criticized her former colleagues on the WTA Tour, whom she described as spoiled and selfish: “I see in them a lack of respect and gratitude toward those who built all of this. They think they don’t have to lift a finger for tennis. At the same time, though, they demand ever-higher prize money.”

In her scathing assessment, Hantuchova—who now works as a player-media relations manager—cited the case of Iga Swiatek: “Female tennis players think the whole world revolves around them. Iga Swiątek’s mental coach demanded hot chicken by 11 a.m. She probably expected me to start a fire by rubbing two stones together. Swiątek personally brought me her dirty laundry and asked me what she was supposed to do with it! I can’t imagine doing something like that to someone from the previous generation.”

Hantuchova, on the other hand, praised tennis stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as exemplary: “In Madrid, I couldn’t convince even one top-5 player to spend ten minutes on an activity with the main sponsor. When I asked Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, they agreed immediately.”

Jannik Sinner’s season ended early, but the numbers still tell the story of an extraordinary year. After his triumph at Wimbledon against Alexander Zverev—which earned him his second title at the Championships—the South Tyrolean never returned to the court. The five consecutive Masters 1000 titles he won from Indian Wells to Rome and his victory on the London grass remain among the most prestigious achievements of his career, but there’s another statistic that attests to his consistency at the highest level: Sinner has joined the select group of champions capable of finishing at least three consecutive seasons with a winning percentage above 90% in the Open Era. It’s an exclusive club that includes legends such as Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, and Roger Federer.