Jannik Sinner reacted in amazement to Shaun White rolling back the years at the ongoing 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The Italian former World No. 1 in men’s singles tennis has rarely before been seen engaging with White be it at sporting events or on social media. However, Sinner was thoroughly impressed, as the now-retired 39-year-old showed he still possesses the snowboarding skills that made him a three-time Olympic gold medalist when he was active.
White is currently at Milano Cortina, but as a broadcaster and not as an athlete. Despite this reality, the $65 million-worth (according to Celebrity Net Worth) former snowboarder and skateboarder was given a free pass by employer NBC to briefly relive his glorious past and the five-time Olympian from San Diego didn’t waste the opportunity. He later shared a video of the nostalgia-inducing moment via his Instagram, captioning the post:
Thanks for the submission!
“2 runs gotta make it count 🫡 This was special, thank you @nbcolympics”
Subsequently, current ATP No. 2 and four-time Major champion Jannik Sinner entered the comments section and left a fire emoji; a clear sign of just how much White’s snowboarding prowess impressed the Italian.
Sinner himself used to ski back in his childhood days, courtesy his roots in the Italian Dolomites, but ultimately chose to pursue a tennis player’s career.
“The reason why I chose tennis was…” – Jannik Sinner’s 2024 confession on why he gave up on skiing
In 2024, Jannik Sinner sat down for an interview with Vogue. Here, the Italian explained how players can win tennis matches even if they make mistakes and how the reality of skiing is radically different because even a single mistake in the adventure sport can ruin an athlete’s chances of victory. Sinner cited this thought as the reason why he left skiing for tennis.
“I was winning a lot when I was young in skiing, and in tennis I never won. And then slowly I started to lose in skiing, because physically I was not ready to compete. I was always quite skinny and everything. The reason why I chose tennis was, in tennis you can make mistakes. You can lose points but you can still win the match. In skiing, if you make one mistake, one big mistake, you cannot win,” Sinner said.
The 24-time career singles titlist is set to feature in competitive action next at the ATP 500 tournament of the 2026 Qatar Open; his first event since his Australian Open semifinal heartbreak against Novak Djokovic. Sinner, opted out of the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony to focus on his upcoming Doha campaign.
Edited by Sudipto Pati
