A prominent tennis journalist criticized a Novak Djokovic superfan for making an insensitive comment about Jannik Sinner after the death of the Italian.
One of Novak Djokovic’s most loyal fans has been called out by a prominent tennis journalist. The fan stirred controversy after sharing a seemingly insensitive take on World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who suffered a great personal tragedy recently with his beloved aunt passing away.
During his on-court interview after winning the 2024 US Open title, Sinner had dedicated his Flushing Meadows triumph to his late aunt, who was ailing at the time. On Sunday, September 22, reports surfaced that the Italian’s 56-year-old aunt is no more.Following news of this tragic development, a diehard Novak Djokovic fan, who has previously been endorsed by the Serb, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) in which he questioned Sinner’s participation at tournaments and promotional events amid his late aunt’s final days. The fan wrote,
“With his Aunty so poorly and now unfortunately passed away, he (Sinner) didn’t miss a single event for Gucci or the Olympics promotion in the last week and is now in Beijing. A sad loss for him and his family but sometimes missing sponsors obligations is important when family involved?”
The post stirred controversy as many condemned the fan over the take. Eventually, the fan in question deleted the post. However, prominent tennis journalist and analyst Jon Wertheim later shared a screenshot of the deleted post and wrote a comment wondering if athletes should be held accountable when their followers air such takes.
Wertheim wrote,
“This is a legit question, not limited to tennis….what level of responsibility – if any – do today’s athletes bear w/r/t their more prominent/vocal/offensive stans? …Would a public repudiation to this kind of rot do any good?”
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner is in Beijing right now, preparing for his 2024 China Open campaign. The Italian is the defending champion at the ATP 500 event, having defeated Daniil Medvedev in last year’s final.Earlier this year, the same Djokovic superfan had a back-and-forth with Andy Roddick on social media following an opinion voiced by the American over the Serb’s injury update for fans.
In June this year, Novak Djokovic took to Instagram and shared a video of himself training after his knee surgery. He had gone under the knife following a meniscus tear in his right knee during the French Open. Andy Roddick, former World No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion, spoke about the video during an appearance on Tennis Channel.
Roddick had said,
“I was in the tour once upon a time, but I was not doing this. He is not like us. He is a little bit different. This is incredible and I can’t believe it.”
However, Roddick’s assessment led to a reaction from the Serb’s superfan on X. The fan questioned Roddick’s use of the phrase “not like us” for Djokovic.The American responded saying his phrase was inspired by the Kendrick Lamar song of that name. Roddick also added that his assessment was meant to compliment Djokovic.
