When Jannik Sinner lifted the Wimbledon trophy in July, becoming the first Italian to do so, he was hailed as a national hero in Italy.
Yet, recent remarks defending his decision not to play in the Davis Cup finals, which begin later this month, have stirred controversy in his native province of South Tyrol along the Austrian border where many residents speak German and rekindled longstanding cultural tensions.
Defending his decision not to represent Italy at this month’s Davis Cup finals in Bologna, the 24-year-old tennis star sought to placate his critics. “I am proud to be Italian. I am very happy to have been born in Italy and not in Austria,” he told Sky Sports this week. Italy play Austria in the quarter-finals.
His comments provoked a backlash from representatives of the Schützen, about 140 local cultural associations in South Tyrol with about 5,000 members. Schützen members defend local traditions and are recognised for their lederhosen and dirndl outfits, feathered hats and ceremonial sabres and rifles brandished during parades.
“If one day the majority of South Tyroleans were to forget their autonomy and identify exclusively as Italians, the work of those who once sought to erase our uniqueness would be complete,” Christoph Schmid, head of the Schützen, wrote in an open letter to Sinner. “Austria, which you rejected, tirelessly defended the rights of the South Tyrolean population.”
South Tyrol, officially known in Italy as the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, forms the northern half of the Trentino-Alto Adige region — the most northerly in Italy — together with Trentino to the south.
Sinner has insisted he is proud to be Italian
KIN CHEUNG/AP
Formerly part of Austria-Hungary, the 2,850 square mile area was ceded to Italy in 1919. Mussolini oversaw a harsh campaign of Italianisation, with place names changed and the German language repressed.
However, local traditions flourished after the German-speaking majority regained self-government following the Second World War. Cultural initiatives include Törggelen — an autumn celebration of the grape harvest with wine, roasted chestnuts and dumplings served in Buschenschanken (wine taverns) — and Almabtrieb, in which livestock brought down from mountain pastures are adorned with flowers and ribbons.
A 2014 consultative referendum found that 92 per cent of residents favoured self-determination. Austrian flags emblazoned with the slogan “Süd-Tirol ist nicht Italien” (“South Tyrol is not Italy”) remain a common sight.
Born to a ski instructor and a waitress in Innichen, less than six miles from the Austrian border, Sinner, 24, speaks Italian with a clear Germanic lilt. His decision to skip the Davis Cup, which he said was to prepare early for the Australian Open in January, drew criticism nationwide.
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Antonello Guerrera, the London correspondent for La Repubblica who frequently writes about Wimbledon, told The Times that Sinner had become a victim of his own success in a country where tennis has begun to rival football as a national passion.
“When critics get angry, prejudices tend to surface,” Guerrera said, noting that some Italians also attack Sinner for living in Monte Carlo, and therefore not paying taxes in Italy, as proof he is not truly Italian. Guerrera said he disagreed, adding the player felt deeply proud of Italy’s two previous Davis Cup victories in 2023 and 2024 which he helped win.
Sinner reclaimed the world No 1 ranking last week after winning the Paris Masters, though Carlos Alcaraz of Spain regained the top spot on Monday.