(VIDEO) Tickets please! Jannik Sinner punches passengers train tickets in Milan ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics

After the disappointing end to his title defence in the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner has come back down to earth by helping out at the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in his home country of Milan. He immersed himself in a different role, on hand to punch tickets for citizens.

One of the ambassadors for the games, the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina are set to commence proceedings with the opening ceremony on Friday 6th January, with the talents coming out to watch the pinnacle of sport kick off in style.

Sinner was supposed to be at this lavish event but opted not to attend with the focus on clawing the gap in the rankings to the world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who extended his gap and then some after the Spaniard took home the title in Melbourne. He will use this time wisely, skipping the opening ceremony in favour of practicing and preparing for the upcoming Qatar Open, where the likes of Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will be ferociously competing for the title in the Middle East.

While he is not able to be there for the opening ceremony, Sinner is still taking part in the events leading up to it. Trading the sweltering Melbourne conditions for the chilling Italian slopes. There was a video which emerged on February 5 which saw him walking through Milan station, wrapped up warn ahead of being back in his native country.

Later on in the day, citizens were surprised to see him standing at the doorway of a train carriage on hand to punch tickets for the passengers travelling to the games, marvelling around the four-time Grand Slam champion. Also, there was Paralympic fencing champion Bebe Vio, who was also Italian and there to shed some Winter Olympic joy on the excited fans.

Sinner volunteered to be an ambassador back in 2024 ahead of the games, with his passion for winter sports stemming from a young age when he used to do a lot of skiing. While tennis has taken over his life, winter sports will always hold a dear place to him with the chance to be one of the leading figure heads for the games being a true honour for him.

He is not the only Italian getting involved. Jasmine Paolini has had her fair share of action, being bestowed the honour of being one of the lucky people to carry the Olympic torch on its merry way from Athens to Milan. She was in charge of completing the Panathenaic Stadium handover, passing the flame on to Italian cyclist Filippo Ganna who continued the mesmerising journey.

The season is still long for the world number two, and his ambitions are showed with him skipping the games to focus on his 2026 tennis campaign. Along with the top three, the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik and reigning champion Andrey Rublev are all set to compete in Qatar.

Following on from that is a huge chance for the 24-year-old to gain some ranking points on Alcaraz. This time last year, Sinner was sitting out of the sport while enduring his three-month doping suspension. He returned at the Rome Open, meaning he has until then with nothing to defend, compared to his arch rival Alcaraz who has a couple of titles and deep runs which will fall off his ranking.

The Indian Wells Open and Miami Open are perfect chances for Sinner to get back on track as he looks to put the disappointment of Australia behind him. The Sunshine swing beckons for the players in March, but Qatar is at the forefront of his mind at this current moment, with the event lasting from February 16-22.