Jannik Sinner, the world number 2 in men’s tennis, has decided not to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Instead of joining the festivities at Milan’s San Siro Stadium on February 6, where the event will feature performances by artists like Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, and Laura Pausini, the Italian star will keep his focus squarely on training and preparation.
This choice comes despite earlier speculation that Sinner, who has a well-known passion for winter sports and a background in skiing from his youth in the Dolomites region, might have played a prominent role—such as serving as a final torchbearer—in the home-soil Games.
Prioritizing his tennis schedule after a demanding Australian Open campaign—where he reached the semifinals but fell short—Sinner will continue practicing this week.
He is then set to travel to Doha on Monday to acclimate early and fine-tune his game ahead of the ATP 500 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, scheduled for February 16-21. This tournament marks his next competitive outing, offering a key chance to build momentum and challenge for ranking points in a strong field that includes top players like Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner’s pragmatic approach underscores his commitment to staying at peak performance during a packed season, even if it means stepping back from a high-profile national celebration.
What’s Winter Olympics?
The Winter Olympics, officially known as the Olympic Winter Games, is a major international multi-sport event held every four years, featuring competitions in sports practiced on snow and ice. It serves as the cold-weather counterpart to the Summer Olympics, bringing together thousands of elite athletes from around the world to compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals.
The Winter Olympics trace their origins to 1924, when the first official edition took place in Chamonix, France. Since then, they have grown into a global celebration of winter athleticism, typically staged in February during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter season.
The Games showcase a wide range of disciplines, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, ice hockey, curling, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, biathlon, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing, and—for the 2026 edition—ski mountaineering making its Olympic debut.
For the current cycle, the 2026 Winter Olympics officially Milano Cortina 2026 are taking place in Italy, co-hosted by the cities of Milanand Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Games run from February 6 to 22, 2026, with the opening ceremony scheduled for February 6 at Milan’s iconic San Siro Stadium.
This marks the first time the Winter Olympics have been officially co-hosted by two separate cities, with Milan primarily handling ice-based events and Cortina and other Alpine venues focusing on snow sports. The event features 16 sport disciplines overall, drawing massive attention as athletes chase glory on home soil for Italy.
In the context of Jannik Sinner’s decision, the opening ceremony represents a high-profile national moment for Italian athletes and celebrities, featuring performances by global stars like Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, and Laura Pausini. Sinner, the world No. 2 in tennis with deep roots in Italy’s snowy Dolomites region and a known love for winter sports like skiing, has chosen to skip this spectacle. Instead, he is continuing his on-court training this week before heading to Doha on Monday to prepare for the upcoming ATP 500 event in Qatar.