Jannik Sinner, unusual routines that fuel a Shanghai Masters repeat

As the Shanghai Masters kicks off under the gleaming lights of the Qi Zhong Stadium, Jannik Sinner arrives not merely as the defending champion but also as a singular force in men’s tennis.

The 24-year-old Italian, who stunned Novak Djokovic in straight sets to claim the 2024 title, enters as the top seed and the biggest favourite, especially with great rival Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by an ankle injury suffered en route to the Japan Open title.

Alcaraz, who reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking

after an epic US Open final win over Sinner,

announced his withdrawal and cited the need for recovery. This opens a 2,580-point window in the Race to Turin for Sinner, who has won 21 of his last 30 ATP Tour finals, fresh off a Beijing title days ago. 

World No. 2 Sinner’s 2025 season has been a masterclass in resilience and reinvention.

Having won his second straight Australian Open crown in January, he then suffered a crushing French Open final loss to Alcaraz – where he let slip three championship points in the fourth of five sets.

But he recovered and became the first Italian man to hoist the Wimbledon trophy in July, outlasting Alcaraz in four sets. Their rivalry did not end there, as Alcaraz edged out Sinner at the US Open, again in four sets.

Now, towards the tail end of the season, on the hard courts of Shanghai and in the absence of Alcaraz, it is the Italian who has a chance to hog the headlines again with an impressive 23-2 record on the surface.

But beyond his blistering forehand and ironclad backhand, Sinner’s dominance is built on a quirky foundation – from Lego sets to an eyebrow-raising fondness for pickle juice – that sets him apart in the intense and relentless world of tennis.

Yes, pickle juice.

In a sport in which hydration is a science, Sinner’s go-to elixir is as unorthodox as it is effective.

During his Australian Open semi-final against Ben Shelton when he was struggling physically, he was spotted chugging a small bottle of the liquid between games. He drank it again during his Roland Garros clash with Alcaraz, though it has to be said the Spaniard did the same.

According to the BBC, the acidic liquid which eases muscle cramps is a “concentrated source of electrolytes, containing sodium and potassium”. It has been found to stop cramping 40 per cent faster than drinking water.

While Sinner is not the only athlete in tennis or other sports who consumes pickle juice for quick recovery, this quirk dovetails with his other obsession – his Lego collection.

In hotel rooms from Melbourne to New York, he unpacks not just rackets but also intricate Lego sets – delicate little things smaller than a tennis ball that demand patience over power.

“Being a tennis player, you have so many thoughts in your head all the time, also pressure,” he told Forbes in August. “But in the evening, for example, I’m building Legos... it’s nice to be there.”

It is no mere hobby; it is a mental reset – or essentially a way for him to unwind brick by brick after matches that hinge on millimetres.

“I never think about being No. 1. I’m a humble guy, I relax with Lego and music,” Sinner said in another interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

That instinct to find peace outside of the court has defined his approach to life in the modern digital age to a certain extent. Sinner avoids the constant pull of social media, choosing to instead outsource it to his team.

“I don’t like to stay on the phone, or I’m trying to have the least amount possible,” he said in the Forbes interview. “I have my social media guy who makes everything. I just have the most important people on WhatsApp.”

Sinner’s training philosophy is equally unconventional, prioritising restoration over relentless reps.

After his painful French Open defeat, he did not double down on court time to “get better”. Instead, he returned to his hometown of Sexten, in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy, to spend time with family and friends and recover from the loss.

It was a “home reset” that, as website Psychology Today noted in June, allowed his nervous system to “come out of defence”.

“I was very relaxed with my family,” Sinner said. “We grilled a bit, played table tennis with my friends... really normal things. I feel safe at home and with my friends. They know how I am and how I was before.”

For someone who undeniably is aiming to be the best in the world in tennis, the skiing prodigy – who is also a football fan – has many things on the side that he enjoys.

“If I feel like going to the zoo, for example, I go. I’m a normal boy, off the court,” Sinner said in a 2024 interview with Vanity Fair.

“I like playing PlayStation. Go to dinner once in a while. Even though most of the time I prefer to stay at home in peace, in Monte Carlo.”

If relaxation is his foundation, then winning would be the scaffold.

In Shanghai, he has emerged from a reset following his US Open defeat and would be able to cut 1,000 points from his rival’s lead, crucially tilting the year-end No. 1 race. 

Yet for Sinner, it is not about crowns. It is the quiet joy of another Lego brick placed, another sip of pickle juice, another point won through calm precision.

In a sport of storms, the world will watch and chant, but he will just build, one step at a time.