Flashback: Sinner's rise from ATP Challenger Tour to major champion

Italian fans filled the stands of the oval-shaped PalaNorda for championship Sunday at the 2019 Bergamo Challenger. Little did the crowd of roughly 2,000 people know that they were about to see their nation’s next major champion.

Jannik Sinner, then 17 years old, was ranked No. 546 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Boasting his trademark wavy red hair, Sinner was a relatively unknown teenager competing in just his fourth ATP Challenger Tour tournament four hours south of where he was born in San Candido.

Sinner made the best possible use of a wild card, becoming the youngest player from Italy to win an ATP Challenger title. After his triumph on home soil, Sinner became the youngest player in the Top 500. It was the launching point for Sinner, who on Sunday won his first major title at the Australian Open.

Look how far he's come 🥹

From Challenger champion ➡️ Grand Slam champion #OnTheRise | @janniksin | @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/UuK8ViQR2U

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) January 28, 2024

His journey to the biggest stages of the sport all started on the more intimate settings of the ATP Challenger Tour. Sinner claimed two more Challenger titles in 2019 [Lexington, Ortisei], leading to his Top 100 debut and more Tour-level playing opportunities. He also won the Next Gen ATP Finals that year, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final.

But the Bergamo hard courts are where Sinner first tasted success.

“I can't describe my emotions,” Sinner said after beating countryman Roberto Marcora in the final. “I came to Bergamo very relaxed and didn't think about winning the tournament. But I knew I had the level to be able to play with everyone. Round-by-round I played very well. I'm so happy.”

^{Jannik Sinner at the 2019 Bergamo Challenger. Credit: Antonio Milesi}

Winning a Challenger is difficult enough, but lifting a trophy aged 17 is a rare feat. Only four 17-year-olds have triumphed at that level in the past five years: Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Shang Juncheng and Jakub Mensik. Sinner was the first player born in 2001 to claim an ATP Challenger crown.

That week in Bergamo marked Sinner’s first victory against a Top 500 player at the Challenger level.

“[In 2018], I had a mental block against Top 500 players. I couldn't beat one,” Sinner said. “In Bergamo it was the first time, then after [that] round I felt very good.”

Now, World No. 4 Sinner is almost unstoppable. He has won 10 of his past 11 matches against Top 5 players.

^{Jannik Sinner wins the 2019 Lexington Challenger. Credit: Charlie Baglan}

Many fans may remember when Sinner won the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019, but perhaps they are unaware of what happened the following week. Sinner continued his hot streak by winning the Ortisei Challenger, becoming the second-youngest player to lift three Challenger trophies in a single season. Though Alcaraz leaped Sinner the following year, Richard Gasquet is still the youngest to achieve the feat [2003].

So if tennis fans are wanting to find the world’s next big star before they become household names, just turn your attention to the ATP Challenger Tour. You never know which players are on their way to winning major trophies right before your eyes.

^{Jannik Sinner greets fans after winning the Bergamo Challenger final. Credit: Antonio Milesi}