Teenage sensation Jannik Sinner has come a long way in tennis in a short period of time. Recently, the Italian breached into the Top 20, claiming the No. 19 spot at the age of 19 years and 245 days.

This feat makes him the 12th teenager from 1990 till today to have made it to the ATP Top 20 rankings before turning 20. In the process, he joined some legends of the sport. 

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Teenagers entering Top 20 before Sinner

The list starts with the six-time year-end World No. 1 and 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras. Unsurprisingly, the American is also the youngest in the list, entering the Top 20 at the age of 18 years and 198 days in 1990.

Following him, future greats Jim Courier and Goran Ivanisevic also set foot in the Top 20 teenagers in 1990. Courier entered at 19 years and 207 days, whereas Ivanisevic was 18 years and 313 days then.

In the 1991-2000 decade, only two teenagers reached the milestone – Andrei Medvedev in 1993 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2000. They were 18 years and 217 days and 18 years and 326 days, respectively.

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Jannik Sinner is the first teenager of the decade to reach the Top 20

The next decade saw a handful of teenagers hit the Top 20 mark, including Andy Roddick (18y, 355d), Rafael Nadal (18y, 305d), Richard Gasquet (19y, 16d), Andy Murray (19y, 98d), and Novak Djokovic (19y, 140d).

Furthermore, the 2011-2020 decade had only one teenager, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who reached the milestone. He was 19 years and ten days old.

Finally, the list concludes with the first teenager of the 2021-2030 decade, the reigning Miami Open finalist Jannik Sinner. Apart from the final, he has also won two ATP singles titles.

After beating Sinner in Monte-Carlo Masters 2021, Serbian World No. 1, Djokovic, was thoroughly impressed. He said, “I think what impresses me the most is his professionalism, his dedication to the everyday routines that he has to endure in order to play at such high level. I think this is why the consistency of his results is there.”

Currently, Sinner is competing in the Barcelona Open 2021 and has got a bye to the second round. He would face the winner between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Egor Gerasimov.

Do you think the Italian can move further up in the ATP Rankings this year?

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