Jannik Sinner\u2019s decision not to be part of Italy\u2019s Davis Cup team has been described as a \u201cslap in the face,\u201d despite the world No 2 explaining the reasons for his absence.<\/p>\n
Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner<\/a> has been a key part of the Italian team in recent years, guiding Italy to the title in 2023 \u2014 their first success since 1976 \u2014 before helping his nation successfully defend their title in 2024.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Davis Cup Finals are set to be held in Bologna next month, with many having expected the former world No 1 to lead his nation once again in front of a raucous home crowd, as the nation looks to become the first since 1971 to win three straight titles in the men\u2019s team event.<\/p>\n However, Monday\u2019s Davis Cup Finals team announcements revealed that Sinner was not part of captain Filippo Volandri\u2019s squad<\/a>, with Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli set to lead Italy\u2019s charge.<\/p>\n Having won the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh this past weekend<\/a>, the 24-year-old returns to official ATP action at the Vienna Open this week.<\/p>\n And, quizzed about his surprise decision, Sinner revealed that his focus was on a strong start to 2026.<\/p>\n He commented: \u201cI\u2019m a two-time Davis Cup winner.<\/p>\n \u201cMy team and I made this decision because the season is very long at the end of the year and I need an extra week of rest to start my preparation earlier. The goal is to get off to a good start in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the last two years, I haven\u2019t reached my best level because I lacked time, that\u2019s why we made this decision. We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Jannik Sinner told latest win over Carlos Alcaraz \u2018has limited value\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Jack Draper & Taylor Fritz warn tennis chiefs and call for change after Holger Rune horror injury<\/a><\/p>\n Though Sinner\u2019s choice may be understandable from a scheduling perspective, it has attracted criticism from some quarters.<\/p>\n And, among those leading the criticism of Sinner is Italian tennis great and Davis Cup icon Nicola Pietrangeli.<\/p>\n No man has played as many or won as many Davis Cup rubbers for any nation as Pietrangeli, who won 120 of 164 matches across both singles and doubles for his country from 1954-72.<\/p>\n Twice a Davis Cup runner-up in 1960 and 1961, and captain of Italy\u2019s successful 1976 campaign, the two-time Roland Garros champion has revealed he does not \u201cunderstand\u201d Sinner\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a real slap in the face for Italian sport,\u201d said Pietrangeli.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand when he says it was a difficult choice. We\u2019re talking about playing tennis, not going to war. When it comes to the Davis Cup, it\u2019s the pinnacle; the goal of every athlete is to wear the blue jersey.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, I know I\u2019m talking about another era. I see that today\u2019s world is driven by money and that the heart is put aside.\u201d<\/p>\n The Davis Cup Finals in Bologna take place from November 18-23, with Italy facing Austria to start their title defence.<\/p>\n Read Next<\/strong>: Jannik Sinner\u2019s updated 2025 schedule revealed after Davis Cup withdrawal<\/a><\/p>\n The post Jannik Sinner slammed by Italian tennis icon as world No 2 explains Davis Cup decision<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jannik Sinner\u2019s decision not to be part of Italy\u2019s Davis Cup team has been described as a \u201cslap in the face,\u201d despite the world No 2 explaining the reasons for his absence. Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner has been a key part of the Italian team in recent years, guiding Italy to the title in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tennis News<\/h2>\n