Sinner revealed he made a shocking promise to his parents: if he didn't break into the top 200 by age 23, he would retire.

Sinner's last appearance on the court was at the Cincinnati Masters, where he performed excellently to reach the final and faced Alcaraz in a top-level showdown. However, the outcome was unexpected as Sinner had to withdraw due to health reasons. Afterwards, he also pulled out of the US Open mixed doubles to focus fully on singles.

During preparations for the US Open, Sinner attended a press conference and spoke about a remarkable promise he made to his parents: if he hadn't entered the top 200 in the world by age 23 or 24, he would give up tennis. He revealed that back then, his family was struggling financially and couldn't afford the high costs of the sport.

“I remember what I told my parents. I left home young, but I said if by 23 or 24 I wasn’t in the top 200, I would stop playing because we couldn’t afford it. Tennis requires a lot of travel expenses, especially if you have a coach. I was lucky to start earning money from tennis at 18, and only then did I feel somewhat secure.”

Sinner also said, “When you’re young, you just hold onto dreams, sometimes not even believing them. I used to say I wanted to be world number one, I wanted to win a Grand Slam, but that was just a dream. Now, where I am is far beyond what I originally imagined.”

Returning to the US Open as the defending champion, Sinner has regained his health, and the virus that troubled him seems to be behind him. He said he enjoys competing with Alcaraz but understands such rivalries won’t last forever. “Carlos and I are sharing an important championship trophy, but at the same time, things can change at any moment,” said the world number one and top seed at the US Open media day.

“This is good for tennis, but if we don’t keep improving, others will catch up—it’s only a matter of time. There are still areas in my game that can be enhanced. From my perspective, that’s positive because it will make me stronger in the future.”

Just like the former “Big Three” — Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic — who pushed each other for years, Alcaraz and Sinner are also elevating each other. “Thanks to him, I can play my best tennis in matches,” Alcaraz said last week in Cincinnati. “I think for the audience, watching our matches is enjoyable. As we’ve said many times, we will raise the level to the highest and deliver truly exciting tennis.”

On Friday in New York, Sinner also commented on his opponent: “He’s incredibly fast on the court. For other players, a point might be over, but he can still save some balls. He interprets the game in different ways.” Sinner added that their differences make the rivalry more intriguing: “We are two very different players with distinct styles and personalities off the court. That makes the competition very interesting. The only thing we share is that we both train very hard.”

Sinner will begin his title defense at the US Open by facing Czech player Kopriva, ranked 87th in the world, in the first round. (Source: Tennis Home, Author: Spark)