Jannik Sinner’s new girlfriend causes a stir on live TV as fans agree | Tennis | Sport
Tennis fans were left furious at the attention paid to Jannik Sinner’s new girlfriend during one of his matches. Sinner continued his astonishing form last Sunday as he beat Alexander Zverev in the Vienna Open final, winning 3-6 6-3 7-5 to clinch his fourth ATP Tour title of the season.
But despite the Italian being the clear star of the show, a portion of viewers who had tuned in to watch the thrilling final took issue with how much the cameras focused on his model girlfriend, Laila Hasanovic, instead of the action on court. The Austrian television broadcast panned to Hasanovic, who sat next to the tennis star’s mum, numerous times. That had also been the case during the world No. 2’s semi-final win over Alex De Minaur.
Some of the outrage on social media included comments such as: “Stop focusing on her, we want to see Jannik!” And: “We’re tired of you focusing on her.” Another frustrated fan vented: “Enough with Laila, we want to see him.”
The couple had been linked for some time prior to the tournament. And the four-time Grand Slam winner himself confirmed their relationship after defeating Zverev.
Addressing his family in the players’ box, Sinner said: “Thank you very much for your support. The work you put in, the effort. Even understanding me is not always easy, but thank you for your commitment. My family, my girlfriend, my friends and even those who follow us from home.”
Sinner is not the first high-profile boyfriend Hasanovic has had. The Dane, whose parents come from Bosnia, previously dated ex-Haas Formula One driver Mick Schumacher and Danish footballer Jonas Wind.
The 24-year-old is thought to have split from Schumacher earlier this year after they reportedly began dating back in 2022, having been seen together on the paddock on several occasions. Their relationship appeared to have ended when they were both seen on a celebrity dating app back in Spring.
Born in 2000 and originally from Copenhagen, Hasanovic graduated from Svendborg Gymnasium School, but began her modelling career at a very young age, representing Denmark in the Miss Universe pageant in 2019.
Sinner has been reluctant to talk about his private life in the past, but admitted at the US Open he was “in love”, before swiftly adding: “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He had already dismissed talk of a romance when he was asked by Italian reporters about claims he had been seen with Laila in Copenhagen, saying: “No, no, there was no girl. I had just some business with a couple of photo shootings there. That’s it. Nothing else.”
Sinner was previously in a relationship with fellow tennis star Anna Kalinskaya, who had dated Nick Kyrgios. The Italian was later linked to Russian model Lara Leito.
