Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. But at the same time, it's one of the most difficult sports professionally, both financially and competitively, to break into and sustain a top-level player for a long time. With all of this in mind, it's hard to believe that these world famous tennis players, some of the best in the world like Novak Djokovic, didn't play tennis seriously when they started out.
Novak Djokovic wanted to be a skier
Skiing is huge in European mountain countries like Serbia. On the border between Serbia and Kosovo is a ski resort called Kapaonik. Djokovic's parents, Srdjan and Dijana, ran several small businesses in this ski resort town. That's why Novak Djokovic grew up sliding down the slopes of these hills on skis, not holding a tennis racket.
Novak Djokovic could have become a skier but chose tennis instead when his parents gave him a mini racket at the age of 4. It became his favorite sport in the world from then on forever.
Jannik Sinner also likes skiing for now
Jannik Sinner is from Italy, more specifically from the snowy Innichen region of South Tyrol in Northern Italy. There is so much snow in the municipality and village that the annual Snow Sculpture Festival is held there. It also creates a wonderful skiing environment, which young Jannik Sinner is actively growing.
Since his mother was a waitress at a ski lodge, Sinner started skiing at a very young age. He even won the national giant slalom championship at the age of 12 and became the best junior skier in Italy. Sinner also loved playing soccer, as most Italians do in the country.
Tennis was probably his third option. However, seeing his talent, Sinner's father pushed him towards tennis, even though the youngster had given it up for a year. Today, he is a Grand Slam winner, i.e. Australian Open 2024 and Miami Open champion.
Roger Federer wanted to play football in Switzerland
Sport was a big thing in Roger Federer's life from a very young age. The Swiss legend grew up playing many sports including badminton, basketball, soccer and then tennis. He was fond of the latter two, especially football because he loved it.
However, playing all these sports gave him excellent hand-eye coordination, which helped him in tennis. He continued to play both tennis and soccer, and at the age of 12 became the junior tennis champion. This gave him a clear indication to continue tennis and leave football behind.
Rafael Nadal also wanted to play football
Although it is hard to imagine Rafael Nadal choosing other sports besides tennis today, especially considering that he is coached by his family member (Toni Nadal), the Spaniard wanted to be a soccer player. Nadal's second uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, was a footballer who played as a defender and midfielder for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Rafa's idol was Brazilian striker and 2002 FIFA World Cup winner Ronaldo, and he even met him once at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Rafael Nadal dreamed of playing soccer, but ended up joining the Manacor tennis club as a young coach with his uncle. Today, he is a 22-time Grand Slam winner.
Rohan Bopanna moved away from hockey and football to become a tennis player
Rohan Bopanna made history earlier this year at the Australian Open when he became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam doubles title. Bopanna and Matthew Ebden beat Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 in the final. Still, despite the amazing performances, it is shocking to hear that Rohan Bopanna once wanted to be either a hockey player or a football player. Before the age of 11, he tried his hand at both sports before realizing that he was better suited to tennis.
Bopanna was born in the 'Silicon Valley of India', Bengaluru, but hails from the Coorgi community, which has produced many hockey players. Bopanna was probably going in that direction. His father was an avid tennis fan and built a tennis court with 7 of his friends in Coorg. That was the slow start of Bopanna's journey in sports.
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