Jannik Sinner, Lavazza and the Carota Boys

As part of our mission to spread Italian coffee culture around the world, Lavazza has nurtured an affiliation with tennis for well over a decade, having provided support as the official coffee for several major events including Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Rolex Shanghai Masters and the U.S. Open. Along with involvement in these key tournaments, Lavazza has committed to support a few selected players, who have been appointed as worldwide brand ambassadors.

Since his rise in 2019, the young global sensation Jannik Sinner has been our 'flag.' Lavazza has always trusted in Jannik’s incredible talent, and even more so today, we are cheering him on alongside the Carota Boys through every challenge.

For those who don’t know the Carota Boys, they are a group of Italian boyhood friends and amateur tennis players that Lavazza noticed at the Italian Open in 2023 in Rome, when they were rooting for Jannik dressed up as real carrots.

But why were they dressed as carrots?

We got to know them and their story, their love for tennis, and from our meeting, a beautiful collaboration was born. This collaboration still unites us, as Jannik Sinner's first fans, from day one. 

They revealed to us that the origin of this incredible adventure, which began when their idol Jannik was eating a carrot on the court in Vienna during a match. Inspired by this moment, they decided to follow him around the world in an unmistakable and distinctive orange outfit.

Since then they travelled together with Lavazza to Paris for Roland Garros and followed Sinner to Wimbledon and then again to the U.S. Open, until NATPF.

It was at the U.S. Open where Sinner personally thanked his carrot Boys for their support for the first time, and we will never forget it.

Jannik Sinner was born in the region of South Tyrol in Northern Italy in 2001. Sinner grew up in his hometown of Sexten, alongside his brother, Marc, and his parents, Johann and Siglinde, who both worked at a ski lodge.

After dedicating some years to skiing, Sinner’s father thankfully urged him to return to playing tennis. At the age of 13, he made the brave decision to move away from his family to train at the Piatti Tennis Centre, where he lived with the family of his coach, Luka Cvjetković. 

His passion for tennis started at the age of 15 on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2016. However his career took off in 2019 when he qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw at the US Open. His recent victory at the Australian Open meant beating World No.1 men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, before defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final.

In the past year he broke many records: he won his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open, contributed to Italy’s win of the Davis Cup, and recently won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, achieving the ranking of World No.3. At the age of 22, his rise to success can only be described as stratospheric, making him the highest-ranked Italian player in history.

We still beleive that the best has yet to come.