Jannik Sinner not publicly congratulating Jasmine Paolini for winning Dubai garners questions from tennis fans: "Is it the fact she's a woman"

Jannik Sinner did not publicly congratulate his compatriot Jasmine Paolini on her title at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which divided fans. The 28-year-old Italian secured the biggest title of her career by coming back from a set down to defeat Anna Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday, February 24.

Few would have predicted Paolini as the tournament champion, as she entered as the world No. 26 and was not among the seeded players. The last Italian to win a WTA 1000 was Camila Giorgi at the 2021 Canadian Open (victory over Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5).

Congratulations poured in from WTA and ATP players, including prominent male compatriots: Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego, and Fabio Fognini.

However, it caught the attention of some fans that the 2024 Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner did not extend his greetings, at least on social media. While some comments criticized the world No. 3, others speculated that he might have congratulated her privately:

"Maybe Jannik texted her? Just because you don't see it online doesn't mean he didn't do his own congrats. Stop looking for trouble & go sit down," some fan wrote.

Even one fan questioned Sinner and commented that the young star's silence could be related to his gender or ethnicity:

"Is it the fact that she's a woman, or that she's Ghanaian-Polish? Maybe the golden boy is just not a very nice person, contrary to all the desperate PR his agents put out?," their tweet read.

Nevertheless, Sinner has publicly acknowledged that he prefers to stay away from social media. Here you can find other fan comments that had divided opinions regarding Sinner: