Jannik Sinner made tennis history on Sunday, 18 May by winning the Italian Open in Rome, becoming only the second player ever to complete the Career Golden Masters — the feat of claiming all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles at least once. The achievement prompted an immediate and warm response from Novak Djokovic, the only other man to have reached that milestone.

Djokovic's tribute

Novak Djokovic took to Instagram within moments of the trophy presentation to welcome the World No. 1 into what he called an exclusive club. 'Congratulazioni, Jannik! Impressionante (Congratulations, Jannik! Impressive). Welcome to the exclusive club, Jannik,' Djokovic wrote in his Instagram Story. Djokovic had sealed his own Career Golden Masters in 2018 with a Cincinnati Open victory, having first won a Masters 1000 title in Miami back in 2007 — a journey spanning eleven years.

The historic achievement unpacked

Sinner, aged 24, arrived at the Italian Open already holding five Masters 1000 titles from the 2026 season — Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid. Rome completed a clean sweep of every Masters event held in 2026, an extraordinary run of form on both hard courts and clay. His Italian Open triumph also carried deep significance for the home crowd: Sinner became the first Italian man to win the tournament since Adriano Panatta triumphed in 1976, a gap of 50 years. He also joined Rafael Nadal as only the second player to win all three clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments — Monte-Carlo, Madrid, and Rome — in a single season, matching Nadal's 2010 feat.

Sinner on the emotion of winning at home

Speaking after the final, Sinner reflected on what the victory meant in front of a home crowd. 'There's no better place to complete this set. It has been a very, very interesting tournament already back in the years. In 2019, (I made my) debut here on this court. I always felt very positive, but in a different way, a lot of attention, a lot of emotions going through. It means a lot,' he said. He added: 'I believe for an Italian, it's one of the most special places we play tennis in. To win at least once in my career means a lot to me. There was definitely a lot of tension, a lot of tough moments I had to go through, especially mentally. Not starting the match in a perfect way, but tried to stay as calm as possible mentally. I'm very happy about this achievement. I know what I played for today, so I'm really happy.'

Focus now shifts to Paris

With the French Open on the horizon, Sinner confirmed that rest and family time would take precedence before any preparations begin in Paris. 'The priority is to recover as much as I can in the next two to three days. There is not going to be a lot of training, Tennis, zero. Physical, (my team and I) need to see. I want to be with my family as well, in this moment. Switching off tennis, then from Thursday onwards, I think I will be in Paris, preparing, and we'll see how it goes. For now, it's important to rest,' Sinner stated. Arriving at Roland Garros as the reigning champion of all three clay Masters events, he will be the overwhelming favourite when the Grand Slam gets underway.