Sometimes, first meetings leave quite an impact on people and become memorable for either the right or wrong reasons. The same is the case with Jannik Sinner and Danilo Gallinari. Aside from being two of Italy’s modern sports icons, they share a strong friendship today that was built on their shared passion for multiple things. But their first meeting was anything but friendly, as they almost ended up ramming their cars into each other.

Gallinari, who has previously played for multiple NBA teams, recently shared details of his first meeting with Sinner. The two weren’t aware that they were trying to reach the parking lot of the same sports facility. Every car went through multiple security checks to reach the parking lot. As Gallinari was driving, he noticed that the person behind him was driving unnecessarily fast. He wanted to desperately overtake Gallinari, but that didn’t happen until the third security check, when the two cars almost collided.

“I arrive with the car and before parking you had to pass three levels of security,” Gallinari said at the Festival dello Sport di Trento. “I didn’t know where to go, so I stop at the first employee, then at the second… In all this there was a car behind me that put crazy pressure on me. He wanted to outdo me at all costs, but there was no room. At the third checkpoint we set off again and this car overtakes us on the right, places itself sideways and nails it. We almost collide! At that point I tell my friend to get off because I wanted to go down too to clarify the matter.”

As Gallinari went up to confront the driver, he found out that it was none other than Jannik Sinner. Turns out that he was in a hurry to reach the facility and that is why was trying to do an overtake. The two shared a laugh and later met again inside the facility.

“Let’s roll down the window… and from the other car Jannik Sinner lowers it! In the end we laughed, I let him pass because he had to go to training and then we met again calmly inside the arena,” he added.

While their first meeting may have been chaotic, they still ended up becoming great friends. They not only share a common passion for cars, but also for Italian soccer giants AC Milan. They are great fans of the club and have visited the San Siro to watch them live. Both Sinner and Gallinari are highly respected people in Italy and are renowned for their achievements in their respective sports.

While Gallinari announced his retirement from basketball in December of 2025, Sinner is currently in his prime and is ranked No. 1 on the ATP circuit. However, he is going through a very tough period at the time and hasn’t made a competitive appearance since the Wimbledon final in July.

This is because of a knee issue that surfaced during the North American swing. This resulted in Sinner withdrawing from important events like the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Masters, and even the US Open. Unfortunately for him, his condition didn’t get better despite resting for over a month, and he had to pull out of the China Open, a tournament he had won last year. And this wasn’t all, as he recently announced his withdrawal from the entire Asian swing.

Jannik Sinner has also pulled out of the Shanghai Masters

It was just a few days ago that Sinner announced his withdrawal from the Shanghai Masters as well. Though he didn’t give a particular reason behind the decision, it is clear that his knee is still not in the best condition.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play at the Rolex Shanghai Masters this year as I had hoped,” he wrote on an Instagram story. “I always enjoy playing in front of the Shanghai fans, and I’m very sorry that I won’t be able to do so next week. Thank you for all your support. I’m looking forward to seeing you again next year.”

Having been knocked out in the Round of 32 in Shanghai last year, Sinner won’t be losing a lot of points for his withdrawal. It is also unlikely that he will lose his No. 1 ranking for the time being, as Alexander Zverev failed to come up with the goods at the China Open.

The German had to make a deep run in the tournament to pressure Sinner’s position at the top. However, he got knocked out in the quarterfinals by Novak Djokovic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Zverev will now have to wait until the European swing to have a shot at dethroning Sinner on the rankings.