Jannik Sinner Snubbed: Fans React to Baffling Italian Athlete of the Year Award Choice
Sometimes, you see an award result that makes you squint at your screen, refresh the page, and ask yourself if you’ve suddenly forgotten how sports work. This week, the tennis world is collectively engaging in that exact ritual. In a move that feels less like a celebration of athletic excellence and more like a masterclass in petty grievances, the Gazzetta Sports Awards named Lorenzo Musetti the Italian Athlete of the Year for 2025.
If you’re casually following tennis, you might be thinking, “Good for Musetti! He must have had a monster year.” Well, he had a decent year. But the guy he beat out for the trophy? That would be Jannik Sinner. You know, the guy who essentially turned the ATP tour into his personal playground this season.
Let’s be real for a second: this decision is baffling. It’s the kind of thing that makes sports Twitter absolutely melt down, and for once, the outrage feels entirely justified.
The Tale of the Tape: Sinner vs. Musetti
To understand why fans are calling this “robbery,” you just have to look at the cold, hard stats. We aren’t talking about a close race here. This wasn’t a photo finish. This was Sinner lapping the field while driving a Ferrari.
In 2025, Jannik Sinner was a machine. He didn’t just participate; he dominated. He bagged two Grand Slams—the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Winning one Major is a career-defining moment for most; winning two in a single calendar year is legendary stuff. On top of that, he took home the ATP Finals trophy, won the Paris Masters, and claimed titles in Vienna and Beijing. He held the World No. 1 spot for the vast majority of the year, boasting a win rate of over 90% with a 58-6 record.
Now, let’s look at the winner. Lorenzo Musetti is a fantastic talent, and his one-handed backhand is a thing of beauty. But his 2025 resume looks… different. He cracked the top 10 and reached the semifinals of the French Open (losing to Alcaraz). He made the final at Monte Carlo. Those are great achievements for a rising star. But here is the kicker: Musetti didn’t win a single ATP title this year. Zero.
So, on one hand, you have a two-time Grand Slam champion and World No. 1. On the other, you have a guy with zero trophies who had a pretty solid run on clay. Make it make sense.
Was This Award Given Out of Spite?
When the math doesn’t add up, you have to look for the drama. And in Italian tennis, there is always a little bit of drama. The prevailing theory among the confused masses is that Sinner is being punished.
Why? Because he skipped the Davis Cup.
There has been a weird vibe all year regarding Sinner and his national team duties. His decision to sit out the tournament earned him some side-eye from the Italian press, and it looks like the voters at Gazzetta have long memories. Fans are convinced this award was a “participation trophy” given to Musetti simply because he’s not Jannik Sinner.
One fan on X (formerly Twitter) summed it up perfectly: “Imagine being given an award so obviously out of spite for the obvious winner.” Another user pointed out the absurdity of prioritizing national team politics over literal global dominance: “Yeah give it the dude who didn’t win a single trophy this year.”
It feels like the voters tried to make a point, but the only point they proved is that they might need glasses.
The Irony of the Davis Cup Argument
Here is the funniest part of the whole “Sinner snub” saga. If the voters picked Musetti because Sinner abandoned the Italian team at the Davis Cup, they ignored one massive detail: Musetti didn’t play in the finals either!
Musetti withdrew at the last minute. The Italian team, led by Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli, went on to win the title anyway—their third in a row. So, if the criteria for “Athlete of the Year” was “Showed up for the Davis Cup,” neither of these guys should have won.
If we are going by that logic, give the award to Berrettini. But giving it to Musetti, who had statistically inferior numbers to Sinner in almost every metric possible, feels like a deliberate troll job.
A Bad Look for the Award
Awards are subjective, sure. But there’s subjective, and then there’s just being wrong. When you have a homegrown athlete who conquers Wimbledon and Melbourne in the same year, you give him the plaque. You throw him a parade. You don’t hand the hardware to his compatriot who didn’t win a tournament.
Sinner will likely sleep fine at night. He has his Grand Slam trophies to keep him warm. But this snub leaves a sour taste for fans who want to see greatness recognized, regardless of petty politics. It looks like in 2025, being the best tennis player on the planet just wasn’t enough to impress the Italian press.
