Jannik Sinner has landed in hot with tennis fans after his arrival in Italy following his historic triumph at the recently concluded Australian Open, as the 22-year-old was seen sharing a hug with Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Sinner became the first Italian in history to win the Australian Open on Sunday, coming back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final. Following his triumph, the World No. 4 returned home to Italy to a hero’s welcome, where he was also called for a meeting with PM Meloni.
Meloni, who assumed office in 2022 as the first female PM of Italy, is a controversial figure, known for her right-wing politics and nationalist policies. The party she belongs to – Fratelli d’Italia – is described as a right-wing populist and conservative group by many observers, often champion anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortionist and anti-immigrant sentiments.
In addition to meeting PM Meloni, Jannik Sinner was also spotted sharing a warm embrace with the politician, an act that did not go down well with fans on social media.
One fan compared Sinner acknowledging Meloni to Aryna Sabalenka and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, another controversial figure in European politics with right-wing tendencies and accusations of human rights abuses in his country.
The fan opined that Sabalenka would have copped more criticism had she done a similar photo-op with Lukashenko, pointing out the double standards protecting Sinner in this instance.
“This won’t make noise but imagine if Sabalenka did just 10% of that with Lukashenko,” one fan wrote on Twitter (now X).
Another fan was disappointed particularly by the hug Sinner extended to Meloni, stating:
“I understand, as a prominent athlete, meeting with your prime minister who justtt so happens to be a fascist but i do not really understand giving them a hug, quite frankly.”
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