Jannik Sinner has a New Head of Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship: A Fellow South Tyrolean Who Founded a Fashion Brand
The 2026 US Open is in full swing, but world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who has already withdrawn due to injury, is not far from the public eye. Last weekend, he appeared at the Monza circuit in Italy to support the F1 Grand Prix. Additionally, according to Italian media reports such as Sportnews.bz, Sinner's team will welcome a new head of marketing, communications and sponsorship: 35-year-old Michael Ranalter.
Above: Sinner and Michael Ranalter
Michael Ranalter is a fellow South Tyrolean and "hometown buddy" of Sinner. Born in 1991 in San Lorenzo di Sebato, a small town in the Dolomites, he has a diverse background:
He speaks fluent English and German, was a professional handball player in Italy's top league; graduated from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy; founded the fashion brand PNRS in 2013; and since 2021, he has served as head of marketing and sponsorship for the Austrian ice hockey team HC Pustertal.
Above: PNRS brand advertisement. Brand products include beanies, baseball caps, T-shirts, etc. The brand's Instagram account has not been updated for two years.
From this, it is clear that Michael Ranalter has extensive experience in brand management, communications, and maintaining relationships with major sponsors. Currently, the brands Sinner endorses include well-known names such as Nike, Gucci, Rolex, La Roche-Posay, LAVAZZA, and Explora Journeys.
Above: A list of brands endorsed by Sinner
On the external cooperation and PR front, Sinner's team already has three key figures:
Sinner's agent Alex Vittur (pictured below) — also a fellow South Tyrolean. When Sinner was just 13, it was Alex Vittur who suggested Sinner switch from skiing to tennis and recommended him to the Riccardo Piatti Center in Bordighera to begin his tennis training. The two share a long-standing personal friendship.
Alex Vittur was a former professional tennis player with a career-high ATP ranking of 605, retiring in his early 20s. He later studied at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, during which he also had exchange stints at Harvard University and the London School of Economics.
In March 2025, Sinner officially announced a change of management company, ending his partnership with StarWing Sports and moving to AVIMA Sports & Business Management, founded by Alex Vittur. AVIMA is headquartered inBruneck, South Tyrol.
Social media manager Alex Meliss (pictured below), also a fellow South Tyrolean and a longtime friend of Sinner. Alex Meliss is a seasoned video content professional who has worked with Red Bull and other well-known brands.
Appointed in 2025, media and PR manager Fabienne Benoit (pictured below), a seasoned Swiss sports PR professional. She graduated in 2005 from the renowned University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and subsequently worked for many years at the ATP and Swiss Tennis.
Recently, Orange Bay Sports research has found that the management models for tennis players can be broadly divided into the following three categories:
1. Signing with large sports management companies: such as IMG (Alcaraz, Anisimova, etc.), GSE Worldwide (Pegula, Tommy Paul, etc.)
2. Setting up their own company to manage marketing activities: such as Coco Gauff
3. Choosing a boutique management company. Besides Sinner, Flavio Cobolli, also from Italy, falls into this category. Cobolli's management company is Back to Next. The company was founded by former Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini and Giuseppe Marzo. Cobolli is the first tennis player signed by the company. His management affairs are also handled personally by Fognini.
| Sources: OA Sports; Sinner's official website; team members' LinkedIn
| Image credits: LinkedIn; Sinner's official Instagram; Sinner's official website