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Terence Atmane Had Special Gift for Birthday Boy Jannik Sinner Before Their Match
Terence Atmane is making sure to enjoy the moment during his incredible run at the Cincinnati Open.
The Frenchman and ATP world No. 136 heading into the tournament made an improbable run to the semifinal where he earned a date with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Saturday. The match happened to fall on Sinner's 24th birthday, and Atmane came prepared with a gift for his opponent.
In the tunnel before the biggest match of Atmane's career, he told Sinner that he "had a little something" for him and handed over a Pokémon card, hoping to start, or possibly add to a collection for the world's top tennis player.
Terence Atmane gifted Jannik Sinner a Pokémon card for his birthday, this is amazing pic.twitter.com/AfqWqaCUo0
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) August 16, 2025
"I have a little something for you"
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 16, 2025
Wholesome moment between Jannik Sinner and Terence Atmane 🥹 pic.twitter.com/eEeJMAxSrz
Atmane has a massive collection of Pokémon cards, and apparently is hoping to spread the hobby across the tennis world.
Fun fact:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 16, 2025
Terence Atmane has one of the biggest Pokémon card collections in France and has a 158 IQ.
Kinda iconic not gonna lie. pic.twitter.com/72O7ldMk9a
The Frenchman's run in Cincinnati has been one of the best stories across the sport. In the ATP live rankings, he's up to No. 69 in the world after defeating world No. 4 Taylor Fritz, No. 11 Holger Rune, No. 26 Flavio Cobolli and No. 44 Joao Fonseca on the way to his first Masters 1000 semifinal.
Sinner, the recent Wimbledon champion, is a different animal though. Atmane held his own in the first set, forcing a tiebreak before Sinner ended up taking the set. Sinner won the second set 6-2 to eliminate Atmane in straight sets and end the Cinderella run. No matter the result, he seemed thrilled to be there, knowing his recent play has served as a breakthrough for his career.
If he's trying to remain as the biggest Pokémon collector on tour, however, he now has to watch out for Sinner.
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Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.