By the time Jannik Sinner lifted the trophy at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Sunday, defeating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 6-3 to reclaim the world number one ranking, the cameras had already found him once that week — in rather different circumstances.
Before the tournament began, the world’s best tennis player was at Villa Monaco, a private estate tucked into the hills of Cap d’Ail just minutes from the Monaco border, submerging himself fully clothed in tailored high fashion into a heated infinity pool overlooking Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat at sunset. The occasion was a photoshoot for the inaugural issue of Vogue Man China — a closed-set, intimate affair that transformed the villa into what its owners describe as “a tennis-inspired dreamscape”.
The juxtaposition is hard to ignore. One of the most dominant athletes in the world, stepping away from the clay to be photographed for a global fashion magazine at a discreet Monaco estate. It says something about where Sinner is right now — not just as a tennis player, but emerging as a cultural figure.
Villa Monaco
Sinner lives five minutes from the property in Monaco. The villa, located at 9-11 Chemin des Eucalyptus in Cap d’Ail, sits on 4,000 m² of private grounds and has built a quiet reputation as the go-to retreat for elite athletes who need to disappear — Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cavendish and Nathan Aké among those who have passed through its gates. It offers, as the property puts it, not access but absence: no external visibility, discreet staff and complete environmental control.
For Vogue’s purposes, it also offered something no studio could replicate. The light reflecting off the heated infinity pool, the manicured gardens, the natural acoustics. Very little needed to be staged.
The defining shot of the editorial was the pool sequence — Sinner in tailored clothes, submerged in water, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat visible behind him at golden hour.
Other sequences included a classic red sports car on the villa’s private driveway and — in a more playful nod to his origins — a ball pit filled with dozens of tennis balls.
The cover
The editorial appears in the inaugural issue of Vogue Man China. The shoot was completed while he was preparing to compete at the Monte-Carlo Country Club — and days later, he walked off the clay as champion, having not dropped a set until the semi-finals and defeating the defending champion in straight sets in the final.
It has been that kind of season.
See also:
Tennis: Sinner dethrones Alcaraz in Monte-Carlo Masters final to become world No.1
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Photo source: Villa Monaco