Stevie Johnson claims Jannik Sinner has done something ‘odd’ recently which he finds a bit ‘weird’

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Steve Johnson thinks a decision Jannik Sinner made during the 2024 season is an odd one considering how well he was playing.

This season certainly belonged to the Italian, who started the year by winning the Australian Open and ended it by claiming the ATP Finals title.

In between those triumphs, Sinner won six other titles, including the US Open and he firmly cemented himself as the World number one.

Jannik Sinner is certainly the player who has set the benchmark in 2025 and one of the reasons for his success in 2024 was his willingness to keep finding ways to improve.

What did Jannik Sinner do in 2024 that Steve Johnson found ‘odd’?

Sinner won the ATP Finals and he became the first player to do so without dropping a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986.

This was the eighth title he won 2024 and the 23-year-old can add a ninth to his list of trophies this season should he help Italy successfully defend the Davis Cup.

Sinner has vastly improved over the past year and he continued to tweak his game during the season, such as with his serve.

But Sinner was also seen testing out new rackets during the season, which member of the Nothing Major Podcast Steve Johnson found baffling given how well Sinner was already playing.

“I don’t know if you guys saw this but maybe it was before Paris, but Sinner was trying new rackets. I think he was in Monte Carlo, trying a bunch of new frames. Is that weird?”, Johnson said.

“He is number one in the world, what is there that he needs to change? I feel like that’s an odd move. Maybe he is testing something but when you are number one in the world, winning slams, money is no issue. Am I off on that or is that normal?”

Sam Querrey reacts to Jannik Sinner changing rackets during the season

Before heading to the Paris Masters, which Sinner withdrew from due to illness, he visited Monaco in October to practice and test out some rackets.

Reporters were told he wanted each racket to be black so he did not know which model he was testing out.

It is examples such as this that led Sam Querrey, another member of the Nothing Major podcast, to suggest this is what separates the very best players from the rest of the field.

“I feel like that is just what the greats do. You are number one in the world then you still try to keep getting better,” he said.

“If there is another racket that will give you more spin or pop or it feels better even when you are dominating, just like a number one in the world, I feel like they tweak things in their swing in the off season.”