'A special one' - how Sinner's sensational year unfolded

Jannik Sinner has been referred to as "a special one", the Taylor Swift of Italy and a puzzle no-one can solve.

One thing is undeniable - he will enter 2025 on the back of a historic season that has seen him break new ground.

Sinner has won two Grand Slam titles and the season-ending ATP Finals this year and capped it by securing back-to-back Davis Cup titles for Italy on Sunday.

The 23-year-old has also been embroiled in an ongoing doping controversy which has left his immediate future uncertain.

BBC Sport looks at the numbers behind the Australian and US Open champion's sensational 2024.

On 10 June, Sinner became the first Italian player, male or female, to reach the top of the world singles rankings.

That started the 'Sinnermania' hype that peaked at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he was backed passionately throughout his title-winning run.

"He is like a David Beckham-level of star in Italy now. It's like Taylor Swift [and her fame in the United States]," former US Open champion Andy Roddick said recently on his podcast Served.

"I went there on vacation this summer and everyone was talking about Sinner and asking about him.

"It's exciting for tennis."

Sinner has won more titles than he has lost matches throughout a season of remarkable consistency.

He has claimed eight trophies, with triumphs in Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Turin as well as his Slam double.

His eight titles and 70 wins makes it the most successful season on the ATP Tour since Andy Murray in 2016.

He won a further three singles matches at the Davis Cup, meaning he has lost just six times to only four opponents this year.

Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz beat him on three occasions, while there were also losses to Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.

The lowest-ranked opponent Sinner lost to was Stefanos Tsitsipas - at 12th in the world - in Monte Carlo.

In a year where the second member of the 'Big Three' retired, Sinner has stated his intention to fill the void left by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Sinner emulated men's record 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic and 20-time champion Federer by becoming only the third man to win the three biggest hard court titles - the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals - in a season.

He will end the year almost 4,000 points clear of world number two Alexander Zverev in the rankings, finishing on 11,830 points compared to Zverev's 7,915.

One of the key differences for Sinner this year has been a significantly better record against his main rivals.

Before the season began, Sinner had 22 wins and 27 losses against top-10 players. He ends the year having won 17 of his 22 matches against them, including 10 of the past 11 meetings.

When Sinner did lose in 2024 he always took his opponent the distance. He has not lost a match since 2 October, where he fell in three sets to Alcaraz in the Beijing final.

Remarkably, Sinner went the entire year without suffering a straight-set defeat. He is only the second man after Federer in 2005 to achieve that in a full season.

He has now won 26 sets in a row, finishing the year with a 92.41% win rate.

Sinner won $4.8m (£3.8m) in prize money at the ATP Finals, taking his yearly total to $16.9m (£13.4m). It means he has almost doubled his career total in one season.

And he was not done there.

Sinner was described by Italy captain Filippo Volandri as "a special one" after spearheading their Davis Cup comeback victory over Argentina just days after winning the title in Turin.

Argentina's captain Guillermo Coria said Sinner is "one of the best number ones in history", while beaten semi-final opponent Alex de Minaur of Australia said facing Sinner was "like trying to solve a puzzle that not a lot have managed to solve".

Sunday brought a fitting end to his stellar campaign as he sealed the Davis Cup title for Italy, 12 months after they ended their 47-year wait for the trophy.

Once a promising young skier from the northern village of San Candido, Sinner has now established himself as a sporting icon in his home country.

While still awaiting the outcome of a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing, Sinner will begin 2025 tasked with defending a major title for the first time.

Sinner's growing legions of fans - not least his loyal followers known as the Carota Boys who attend matches in carrot costumes - will hope he can continue exactly where he left off.