Jannik Sinner Makes a Revelation About Kimi Antonelli

They are the two iconic faces of Italian sports: Jannik Sinner, the world’s No. 1 tennis player, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the F1 world champion-to-be. And they’re also friends. In an interview with La Repubblica, the Italian tennis star revealed the special relationship he shares with the Mercedes driver, who is poised to win his first career title at age 20.

“I talk to him about everything. About how to relate to others, the people around us, and how to handle certain situations. We play different sports—he’s 20, I’m 25—but we talk a lot. Sometimes people ask me: ‘Would you trade a Grand Slam for a win in an F1 race? Come on, there’s no point in answering—it’s something that will never happen.”

Sinner emphasized that many top athletes are emerging at an increasingly young age: “Why take away a great story from teenagers? They’ve experienced intense emotions, they’ve fought hard, they’ve given it their all. There’s an age when sports give you a voice to be heard and become a tool for understanding who you are and growing.”

“Look at Lamine Yamal’s season—he won the World Cup with Spain at age 19. Why be afraid that too much youth will lead to failure? What if, instead, it opens up new horizons and helps showcase qualities that no one has seen yet? Let the kids play. Kimi made his debut before he even had a driver’s license. If someone deserves success, I don’t see a problem—just as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have the right to be on the field, even though they’re no longer teenagers, not to mention Djokovic.”