Milan Cortina 2026, inauguration without Jannik Sinner: the clarification

Jannik Sinner did not take part in the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Games, but there is no controversy. The South Tyrolean champion&#8217s absence from the big event at San Siro fatally triggered a tail of controversy that necessitated a clarification from the organizers. The San Candido star, who also took part in important initiatives in recent days in the Lombard capital, such as when he appeared at the Central Station in the role of controller, together with Bebe Vio.

Marco Enzo Venturini

Giving final clarity on the issue was Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation. “Jannik Sinner was not scheduled to participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics” he clarified at a press conference. After all, the ATP ranking number 2’s schedule is quite tight: already on February 16 he will start the ATP 500 tournament in Doha, which is why his departure for Qatar is imminent. In the meantime, he has resumed training after the Australian Open, which ended for him in the semifinal against Novak Djokovic.

Varnier also wanted to highlight Sinner’s presence in the preliminary stages of Milan Cortina 2026: “Jannik was our first volunteer. He participated in the preparation of the Games, made himself available for the launch of the volunteer program, and the success was extraordinary. He made a really huge contribution to us, with 130 thousand requests for volunteers. Now we have 18 thousand”. Two days before the opening ceremony he had been spotted in a hotel near Brera, one of Milan’s iconic neighborhoods. In retrospect, a false alarm.

Sinner meanwhile aims to put the disappointment of the Australian Open behind him by planning his upcoming events. And the coming months will provide the South Tyrolean with several golden opportunities to take back the No. 1 ATP ranking over friend-rival Carlos Alcaraz. Calendar in hand, the rest of the winter and all of spring 2026 will be decisive in seeking and possibly achieving the mission. Which, in more than just theoretical lines, appears broadly possible.

The reason is quickly stated: the 2026 season will allow Sinner to participate in tournaments he had had to skip in 2025 because of the controversial suspension for the so-called “Clostebol Case.” This will allow him to accumulate in the ATP ranking as many points, which will replace as many “zeros” inherited from the stop a year ago.