Sesto Pusteria, the town of Jannik Sinner’s birth, has been the subject of much discussion in the last few days. Situated a short distance from the Austrian border, Sinner grew up in Sesto, where his parents now manage the family vacation house. However, Sinner’s victory was accompanied by a very tragic situation involving the people of Sesto. The sorrow of the Tschurtschenthaler family involved nearly the whole community.

The entire Sesto community attended the funeral of Monika Stauder, who passed away last Monday in a horrific car accident in Austria, together with her two kids, Matthäus and Kassian.

Christian Tschurtschenthaler, the father of Matthäus and Kassian and the spouse of Monika, spoke during the funeral. Alone with his eldest son, Benedikt, he expressed gratitude to all Sesto residents for their connection. In consideration of a family in mourning, Sesto has put off the celebrations of Sinner’s victory.

The mayor of Sesto praised Sinner’s sporting achievement and said: “He is the pride of the entire town. On the one hand, we have this extraordinary success, but on the other, we are touched by a tragedy. It is not the right time or atmosphere to celebrate. But we are in contact with Jannik’s management, and with the right distance, we will organize a moment to honor him. Jannik has remained one of us and his family is very normal and humble. His parents have transmitted to him the values that count in life.”

Jannik Sinner in 2024

Now the world no.4 (career-high), Sinner played his last match on the 28^th of January when he overcame world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 12^th career title.

At the moment, during this season Jannik achieved an overall 7-0 win-loss record. This year, the Italian won 1 tournament at the Australian Open.

Sinner is scheduled to compete next in Marseille (Open 13 Provence). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 5th of February.