Jannik Sinner fuels dating buzz at US Open: clues point to Laila Hasanovic, not Brooks Nader

The most telling moment didn’t come from a blistered forehand or a press-room soundbite. It came from a quick camera pan at the US Open, when fans froze a frame of a smartphone lock screen and swore they saw Danish model Laila Hasanovic smiling back. Within hours, the tennis internet had a new working theory: the woman in World No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s life isn’t Brooks Nader, as some whispers suggested earlier in the summer—it’s Hasanovic.

The clue fit what regulars had been noticing for months. Hasanovic sat courtside in Paris during Sinner’s French Open run, popped up again during the grass swing, and then reappeared in New York, where cameras caught her applauding big points during his semifinal win over Felix Auger-Aliassime at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She didn’t hide. She clapped, smiled, and blended into the buzz like someone who knew exactly why she was there.

A summer of clues

This story hasn’t been built on one grainy shot. It’s a breadcrumb trail. During Sinner’s third-round match against Denis Shapovalov in New York, social media users paused the broadcast and pointed to the wallpaper on his phone: a polaroid-style photo of Hasanovic, grinning, hair tousled. It matched the aesthetic fans had seen on her own feeds. Nobody from either camp confirmed it, but the internet did what it does—screen grabs, side-by-sides, and certainty.

By then, the paper trail was already tidy. Hasanovic, 24, born in Denmark in 2000, is a model and influencer who has worked with brands like Prada Beauty and Armani Beauty. Around the US Open, she had 376,000 Instagram followers and roughly 48,700 YouTube subscribers. She previously dated Mick Schumacher, son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, a link that matters here because Sinner is a dedicated Ferrari fan. The motorsport-obsessed corners of social media were early to connect those dots, and F1 accounts were quick to push the narrative along.

Back in Monaco, where both are believed to live, acquaintances describe a low-key pair. No drama. Gelato runs. Quiet dinners. That lines up with the tennis calendar—players based in Monte Carlo cut down on travel and get privacy in a small, sports-heavy community. People who’ve met Hasanovic say she’s warm, approachable, and not easily rattled by attention, a useful trait when your rumored partner is winning big matches in front of 20,000 people and a global audience.

The timeline also fits Sinner’s personal life. He dated Italian model Maria Braccini until 2024. Then came a high-profile spell with Russian player Anna Kalinskaya. In May 2025, Sinner confirmed that relationship had ended. Soon after, he told an Italian outlet he was in love—he didn’t name anyone, but that one line kept this whole story humming.

And his tennis? Strong as ever. He’s been the form player of the season, with the French Open the outlier—he reached the final in Paris against Carlos Alcaraz and left without the trophy, the one major he hasn’t snagged this year. On court he’s been locked in, handling pressure moments with a calm that usually comes from steady routines, a tight circle, and little noise. That’s partly why this off-court thread is interesting: it hints at stability, not distraction.

So where does Brooks Nader fit? Earlier in the summer, the American model’s name floated through the rumor mill—social posts, small sightings, and a lot of reaching. But the recent evidence points in one direction. Hasanovic’s presence at tournaments, the New York trip believed to be centered on supporting Sinner, and that wallpaper shot made the Nader angle feel like an early-season sidetrack.

None of this is official. That’s important. Sinner rarely offers more than a smile when asked about his private life. He’s careful, and historically he’s kept his focus on tennis and kept his circle off the record. Hasanovic hasn’t posted anything explicit either—no soft launch, no winks. Just the repeated, visible support that fans can’t miss.

• What we know: Hasanovic was seen at Sinner’s matches at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, including his semifinal against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
• What fans believe they saw: a polaroid-style photo of Hasanovic as Sinner’s phone wallpaper during his third-round match with Denis Shapovalov.
• What’s been said on the record: Sinner confirmed in May that his relationship with Anna Kalinskaya had ended; later, he said he was in love without naming anyone.
• What remains unconfirmed: any official acknowledgment from either Sinner or Hasanovic that they are a couple.

Hasanovic’s profile explains why this story won’t fade quickly. She’s worked with top-tier brands—Armani Beauty, Prada Beauty—campaigns that demand polish and visibility. She knows media cycles. She’s been part of the F1-adjacent world, which is relentless in tracking personal lives. If she and Sinner are together, both understand the spotlight and how to move within it without feeding the beast.

There’s also the tennis angle. Fans tend to project meaning onto who shows up in a player’s box. Is a new partner a lucky charm? A pressure valve? Or just a normal part of a life that has little normal in it? For Sinner, the image is clear: hard worker, quiet operator, steady rise. A supportive partner who doesn’t add noise fits that brand, and it’s why Hasanovic’s measured courtside presence has landed so cleanly with fans.

Monte Carlo ties the scene together. The principality is a hub for tennis pros, drivers, and track athletes because of the training facilities, travel ease, and privacy. It’s entirely plausible to see Sinner and Hasanovic out for gelato on a weeknight and for nobody to make a fuss. That’s part of the appeal—normal life in between the chaos of match days and photo shoots.

As for the French Open piece of the story, that’s where the speculation really picked up. Hasanovic’s appearance in Paris set off the early wave of talk, and Sinner’s run to the final only amplified the chatter. When he returned to the summer swing with that same quiet focus and she kept appearing, the pattern got harder to ignore.

New York sealed it. Cameras caught Hasanovic again during the US Open, dressed simply, applauding the big moments, then blending back into the crowd. Not a show. Not a tease. Just presence. For a fan base that’s gotten used to decoding body language in players’ boxes, that was enough to push the story from maybe to probably.

Why this story resonates beyond tennis

Sports and pop culture now run on the same fuel—constant visibility. Tennis has always been a little different because players travel alone, build small teams, and sell a lot of their image on self-control. That’s why a subtle thing like a lock screen can cause such a stir. It’s not a grand gesture. It’s the opposite. It feels unguarded, even if it was never meant to be seen.

The F1 thread adds another layer. Hasanovic’s past with Mick Schumacher and Sinner’s deep Ferrari fandom create a shared language—drivers, paddocks, engineers, split-second decisions. Fans love those crossovers. They turn a relationship into a two-sport story, which pulls in audiences who might not normally watch a fifth-set tiebreak or an early-morning qualifying session.

There’s also a practical side. If this is a real partnership, it will be built around long stretches on the road, time-zone math, and the kind of discipline that big careers demand. People close to both say they value simple routines. For athletes and public figures, that’s not a slogan; it’s survival. It’s training, sleep, food, and a short walk for a coffee or ice cream when the day allows.

So what would count as confirmation? Not much more than what’s already out there. One photo together outside a stadium. One caption that doesn’t dodge the obvious. Until then, the pieces on the table are the ones fans have already arranged—tournament cameos, a wallpaper clue, and a season where Sinner looks settled, even as the spotlight gets brighter.

For now, the scoreboard says this: the Brooks Nader talk has cooled, the Laila Hasanovic theory has heat, and if either wants to put a stop to the guessing, they both know how fast one post can travel. Until that moment, the story sits where it started—on a phone screen, in a packed stadium, with the cameras rolling and the world squinting at the details.