His first professional singles title came in February of that season, at an ATP Challenger Tour event on Italian soil in Bergamo. That started a 16-match winning streak that garnered three titles across the Challenger and ITF levels \u2014 a run that none other than Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> stopped that April in Alicante.<\/p>\n Later that month, Sinner accomplished another big first at the age of 17: After receiving a qualifying wild card to the Budapest ATP 250 and eventually entering the main draw as a lucky loser, the Italian earned his first ATP Tour match win on 24 April, beating former junior World No. 1 Mate Valkusz<\/a>.<\/p>\n With a cross-court forehand winner, he secured a 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 victory in a topsy-turvy encounter on the red clay. Sinner’s understated reaction on match point \u2014 a subtle look to his coaching box \u2014 was an early indication of the ice-cool demeanor that would ultimately help him soar to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.<\/p>\n \u201cThey played a pretty incredible first-round match with balls basically shooting from their racquets like a bullet,\u201d said tournament director Attila Richter, who granted Sinner a qualifying wild card. \u201cJannik wins in the end, so he not only gets his first wild card into a Tour event, but also wins his first Tour match in Budapest in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n You May Also Like: How Sinner’s first ATP event foretold his rise to stardom<\/a><\/p>\n For all Sinner’s tennis talent,\u00a0it was an off-court gesture from the Italian that made the biggest impression on Richter. After a defeat to Laslo Djere<\/a> in the second round, the 17-year-old asked to speak to Richter. While the tournament director finished an off-site obligation, Sinner waited an hour and a half with his luggage in tow to personally thank him for the qualifying wild card.<\/p>\n \u201cThat sort of already then gave me the impression not only seeing him playing tennis, but also it gives you that feeling that you have with Jannik also today \u2014 what a really, really nice, nice guy he is, how good he was raised and his manners,” Richter said. \u201cI remember then thinking to myself, \u2018Well, if he becomes a good player, he’ll be a superstar\u2019, because it’s just the personality that he has.\u201d<\/p>\n After Budapest, Sinner’s year of firsts continued. In May, he beat Steven Johnson in Rome to record his first ATP Masters 1000 victory, and he later made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the US Open<\/a>, successfully qualifying before falling to Stan Wawrinka<\/a> in four first-round sets.<\/p>\n![\"\u201cATP\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767418027_359_atp-no-1-club-banner-article.jpg\")
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