The confines of planet Earth and grass or concrete playing fields are no longer enough to contain an extraordinary talent. The current number one in world tennis Jannik Sinner has in fact officially crossed the threshold of the atmosphere to link his legend to the exploration of the universe.
The scientific committee of the Working group small bodies nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union has approved and included in its official bulletin a decision with profound symbolic value: to name a celestial body in honor of the South Tyrolean champion. The map of the universe is thus enriched with a new reference point, formally cataloged with the name of (120097) Janniksinner, destined to orbit eternally in the remote spaces of our solar system.
The coordinates and origins of scientific discovery
The celestial body in question is not a passing shooting star, but a rocky block permanently located within the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. The history of this fragment of cosmos begins over twenty years ago: the object was in fact sighted on 10 March 2003 by experts from the Campo Imperatore Observatory, thanks to the activity of a team of scientists of Tuscan origin.
The idea of linking the space stone to the blue sample was born from a proposal put forward by members of the amateur astronomers’ group of Montelupo Fiorentino, located in the province of Florence, who found the immediate and convinced support of two of the astronomers who participated in the original discovery.
The promoters of the space dedication and the official motivation
Two important scientists took the bureaucratic steps necessary for international ratification: the astronomer Fabrizio Bernardi, active at Space dynamics services (an academic spin-off of the University of Pisa) and already known to the global community for having identified the famous and threatening asteroid 99942 Apophis, and the astronomer Maura Tombelli, current director of the Montelupo Fiorentino Observatory.
The reasons that pushed the scholars to request this tribute go beyond the simple sporting merits obtained by the athlete born in 2001. The two scientists wanted to underline the integrity of the tennis player, releasing a joint official statement:
We wanted to dedicate this asteroid to Jannik Sinner not only for his extraordinary sporting successes, which are bringing Italy to the top of the tennis world, but also for the values of resilience, fairness and absolute dedication that he expresses on and off the court. Like a comet or a fixed celestial body, Sinner represents a luminous point of reference for the new generations. From today, his greatness is also written among the stars.
A stellar list of awards
The world astronomical body has integrated the celestial body’s profile with a biographical note in English which summarizes a monumental career, capable of exciting millions of fans as once happened when watching great dramas or historical programs such as Sports Sunday.
The official approved text underlines how the Italian tennis player is in all respects one of the greatest contemporary athletes, recalling that he won the Australian Open twice, triumphed on the courts of Wimbledon and at the US Open, as well as having twice led the national team to win the historic Davis Cup.
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