Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

What Stan Smith noticed most about Jannik Sinner, according to Mansour Bahrami

Originally posted on HITC | By Callum Davies | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 10:50 AM ET

Stan Smith’s honest thoughts on Jannik Sinner have come to light following the 23-year-old’s fourth Grand Slam title.

This was his first major win outside the hard courts of New York and Melbourne, a key milestone in his career. It showed that Sinner can win anywhere, not just on one type of surface.

He was one point away from the title before losing from two sets up, a loss that could have broken many players. But Sinner bounced back quickly, winning Wimbledon soon after and earning praise from American tennis legend Stan Smith.

Mansour Bahrami shares what Stan Smith said to him about Jannik Sinner

Speaking on Roland Garros’ podcast, Courtside Conversations, Gigi Salmon was delighted to welcome Mansour Bahrami onto the show to deliver his insight into tennis’ main points of interest.

Naturally, with a Wimbledon title freshly added to his trophy cabinet, Sinner was chief among them.

In fact, the Iranian offered an insight into what both he and Smith, the legendary tennis star, were thinking whilst watching the Italian play in the French Open final, just under a month before he would go on to avenge that loss at the All-England Club.

Photo by Tim Clayton/Getty Images

He told Salmon: “I was sitting next to Stan Smith in the box at the French Open, and what impressed me the most is, and Stanley said the same thing, that he’s always in balance of what he’s doing.

“His footwork is exceptional. I was asking how can a player hit every ball as hard as they can on both sides of their body without missing? And not just do it once or twice but consistently?

“Okay, there are all players who hit the ball hard forehand and backhand. As soon as they have an opportunity they hit it as hard as they can… But Jannik hits every single ball like this.

“And Stan says ‘Mansour because his footwork is always in place. He’s never off balance,’ and that is exactly how it is.”

What Jannik Sinner has lined up next

Sinner hasn’t played since the Wimbledon final, choosing to sit out both Washington and Toronto to give himself a break and some time to recover.

He’s got a lot of points on the line over the coming months, especially with titles to defend in Cincinnati and at the US Open.

Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images

Cincinnati is expected to be his return, serving as his only warm-up event before he looks to defend his title at Flushing Meadows.

This season has shown that time away doesn’t seem to bother Sinner. He came back from a three-month ban earlier this year and immediately picked up where he left off. A short break now shouldn’t slow him down either.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: