Seal visits the US Open: This connects him with Jannik Sinner

At first glance, British singer Seal (61) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner (23) have little in common. But the musician is one of the most prominent supporters of the young athlete, who won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year. After Seal was allowed to sit in his box at the US Open last year, he was there again on September 2, 2024 in New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium. In front of the singer’s eyes, Sinner fought his way into the quarterfinals against Tommy Paul (27) in three sets, where he will meet Russian Daniil Medvedev (28) on Wednesday (September 4).

Why does Seal support Jannik Sinner? He explained this recently during a talk about the US Open by saying that he could learn from him for his own life. He himself has always been looking for balance – and Sinner is “one of the most balanced people I know”. Top players like him are also characterized by the fact that they can focus on something for a very long time. An ability that he admires.

Similarities between tennis and concerts

In one of them, the ex-husband of model Heidi Klum (51) had already spoken last year about his passion for the ball sport, which he does not only passively, but also actively. He finds tennis so fascinating because there are many parallels to his job. “Singing is about efficiency, you achieve more with less. And it’s very similar with tennis.” He doesn’t give his best performances when his voice is at its best. But when he lets himself go the most: He therefore tries to “surrender, let go and not control and trust that all the technique I used before will come naturally. And if you can achieve that, singing becomes effortless, it becomes efficient.”

It’s the same with the white sport: “I guarantee you that the last thing tennis players think about when they play is technique.” They try to be “as clear and relaxed as possible.” “They try to surrender, they try to let go, and that’s where my fascination with tennis lies and the reason why I play so much.”

Jannik Sinner enthused that he could “not only talk about tennis” with Seal

But he apparently has other topics of conversation with Jannik Sinner than just sport. At a press conference during the 2023 US Open, the tennis star spoke about the budding friendship: “He’s obviously an incredible singer, but above all he’s a very, very nice man who’s a pleasure to be with.” They also talked about Seal’s planned European tour, for example. It was “nice to share something else, yes, other moments, right? Not just talking about tennis.”