#NextGenATP star Jannik Sinner has accomplished a lot in his young tennis career, and the Italian attributes his success to the sacrifices he has made on and off the court.

The 18-year old captured the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals trophy, becoming the first Italian to claim that honor. This was even more impressive considering he didn't focus fully on tennis till he was 13.

“In my part of Italy the first sport is of course skiing and I skied more than tennis,” Sinner said. “I also played football.”

Sinner almost gave up the sport when he was seven, as he did not touch his racket for a year. However, his father convinced him to get back into the game.

“My dad came and said, ‘Let’s try once more,’” Sinner recalled on ATP Uncovered. “From that point, I really enjoyed it.”

When he was 13, he visited the academy of renowned coach Ricardo Piatti, who has worked with Richard Gasquet and Novak Djokovic. The academy coaches nurtured his growth, and he still coached by Piatti today.

“It wasn’t easy in the beginning of course leaving all my friends. I had many good friends in my hometown. I had to leave one or basically two sports — skiing and football — and then of course my family, which was not easy,” Sinner said. “But it was my decision and I’m still enjoying playing tennis. That was the point why I left my home. Now I’m really happy that I made that decision.”

Sinner has climbed as high as No. 68 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The Italian is the youngest player in the Top 100. Nineteen-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime is the only other teen in that elite group.

However, Sinner has not let the success get to his head as he wants to be a good role model for kids.

“It’s important to be a very nice guy on court and off court,” Sinner said. “That’s the most important part for me.”