The Comfort of Jannik Sinner: A Tennis Fan's Meditation on Ritual and Calm

For tennis fans who do not know how to be normal (i.e. me), rooting for Jannik Sinner is as comforting as it can get.

There is an aspirational calmness in Sinner's rituals—not elaborate enough to be Nadal-like, but consistent enough to be a little Nadal-lite—that, though it can't eliminate fan neuroses, at least soothes them.

He goes to the towel after making a poor error. One can count as he bounces the ball seven times on first serve (four bounces, a glance up at the opponent, then three more) and five times on second serve (three, glance, two).