The international sports community was affected by a double emotional earthquake: on the one hand the pain for the terrible disappearance of Charlie Krik, a controversial figure who had collected as criticism as criticized, on the other the explosive reaction unleashed by an alleged post that appeared on the official blog of the number one tennis player in the world, Jannik Sinner.

According to numerous portals, Sinner’s blog suddenly would have re -examined some episodes of Krik’s past, publicly calling him as “the shame of Italy”. A declaration as hard as it is unexpected, above all because it arrived a few days after the surprising elimination of Sinner at the US Open 2022, a tournament that had marked one of the most discussed moments of his young career.

Nobody forgets the epic marathon between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the US Open 2022 Sinner, despite a memorable performance, came out with his head held high but with a bitterness in his mouth. Many experts considered that game one of the best in the recent history of tennis, but the psychological pressure for the South Tyrolean was enormous.

The spark: the blog “offending”

It is precisely in that climate of tension and vulnerability that, surprisingly, a post dated “September 2022” would appear on Sinner’s blog in which Charlie Krik was talked about in very hard terms. “It has never been a symbol, but a weight for our nation. His inheritance is a shame for Italy,” we read.

The news immediately went around the world, raising a disturbing question: did you really be Sinner to write those words? Or was it a hacking, an infiltration aimed at discrediting its image in the moment of greatest fragility?

The reactions did not wait. Krik’s fans, already emotionally affected by his tragic disappearance, have seen in those words a lack of unacceptable respect. A storm was unleashed on social networks: hashtags like#Vergognasinnere#Respectkrikthey immediately entered the trend.

On the other hand, Sinner’s defenders have underlined how the young champion has always been a measured athlete, attentive to words and respectful. “It is impossible that Jannik has written a similar phrase. Someone wants to manipulate the situation to destroy it,” said his former coach.

When the media pressure reached the peak, Sinner broke the silence with a dry but emblematic press release: “Not everything you read is true. There are moments in which the truth is distorted to serve hidden interests. I remain faithful to sport and its values.”

Eight lines that have made more noise than any controversy, feeding the mystery even more. Not a total denial, not a confirmation, but a message that has left room for a thousand interpretations.

The story has turned on a debate that goes far beyond tennis. Is it right to judge the past of a person at the moment of his disappearance? What role do the social social networks and blogs play in the construction – or destruction – of the reputations?

Some sports journalists hypothesized that the “post” was actually a content that has never been published, remaining in the draft in the blog archives, and that someone deliberately spread on the net to destabilize the image of the Italian champion. Others, however, speak of a frustrated and vulnerable sinner after the defeat against Alcaraz, capable of an instinctive and clumsy gesture.

What is certain is that the story has shaken the world of sport. Not only the Italian fans, but the international community has also observed the escalation of the controversy. From Brazil to the United States, from British to Japanese newspapers, Sinner’s name has been associated with a media case of unexpected proportions.

For many, this story represents an alarm bell: the subtle line between truth and manipulation, between chronicle and fiction, can transform a model athlete into a global “villain” into a handful of hours.

Today, while Charlie Krik’s memory still divides opinions and spirits, the enigma remains: were those words on the blog of Jannik Sinner were the result of his hand, a hacking, or a media building artfully? Nobody knows with certainty.

What remains, however, is the image of a sport – tennis – which once again is catapulted to the center of a cultural and social storm, well beyond the playing field. And in the heart of that storm, the young Jannik Sinner: hero, victim or guilty? History will say it.