“SIT DOWN, BARBIE!” Jannik Sinner silences Greta Thunberg on live TV: the climate activist calls him a “TRAITOR” for having rejected the LGBTQ+ and climate 2026 campaign – The Italian champion responds with 10 cold words that silence the studio and trigger a unanimous ovation!
Rome, 13 January 2026 – What no one expected happened. During a live broadcast on Rai Sport, Jannik Sinner – world number 1, fresh winner of the ATP Finals and the 2025 Australian Open – was interrupted abruptly and publicly by Greta Thunberg.
The Swedish activist, connected via satellite from Stockholm, called him a “traitor” for refusing to participate in a joint LGBTQ+ and climate campaign promoted for the 2026 tennis season.
What was supposed to be a calm interview about preparing for the Australian Open turned into an epic clash that paralyzed the studio and made the audience explode in thunderous applause in favor of the South Tyrolean tennis player.
The “Buongiorno Sport” program was broadcasting from Rome when the host Stefano Meloccaro asked Sinner what his goals were for 2026 after a dream season concluded with first place in the ATP ranking and the Slam title in Melbourne.
Jannik, with his usual calm and measured tone, replied: “I want to continue to improve, have fun on the pitch and give my best for Italy. The rest comes later.”
At that point, without warning, the studio opened the connection to Greta Thunberg.
The activist, invited as a special guest to promote “Sport for Future 2026” – a campaign that combines climate awareness and LGBTQ+ rights with the participation of high-level athletes – spoke with the decisive tone that has made her famous throughout the world.
“Jannik, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I cannot remain silent. You were one of the main names contacted for this initiative. You refused to wear the rainbow-Earth bracelet and to speak publicly. This is a betrayal of future generations and the LGBTQ+ community. You are a traitor!”
The studio is silent. The host tried to mediate: “Greta, maybe we can contextualize…”, but Thunberg continued undaunted: “Athletes like you have a huge platform. Refusing to use it for the climate and for rights is pure selfishness.
How can you sleep at night knowing that the planet is burning and that millions suffer from discrimination?”
Jannik Sinner, visibly surprised but composed, stared at the camera for a few seconds. His face, usually impassive, became serious. Then, in a low voice, cold and sharp like one of his down-the-line backhands, he pronounced the ten words that are going around the world: **“Sit down, Barbie.
I hit balls, you save the planet”**.
The silence lasted exactly three seconds. Then the studio exploded. The audience present – around fifty people including journalists, technicians and fans – burst into thunderous applause, which lasted over twenty seconds.
Greta Thunberg remained speechless, her face flushed, and visibly sank into her seat without replying. The embarrassed host hastily closed the connection with Sweden, thanking “both for their contribution”.
The video of the episode, uploaded to the Rai Sport YouTube channel, exceeded 12 million views in less than 24 hours. On TikTok, the hashtag #SitBarbie jumped to first place in Italy and reached the top 5 globally, with over 1.2 million videos.
But why did Greta use such harsh words? The “Sport for Future 2026” campaign was born with good intentions. Athletes such as Iga ĹšwiÄ…tek, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic had joined immediately, wearing a bracelet with rainbow colors intertwined with the symbol of the Earth during training.
Sinner was contacted in October 2025 through his agency: he was asked to be one of the main faces of the campaign, to wear the bracelet in tournaments and to make public statements on climate and inclusiveness.
Jannik responded with a polite but firm email: “Thank you for the invitation, but I prefer to focus exclusively on tennis. I wish the campaign the best.”
No public controversy, no declaration against it. Until yesterday.
Sources close to the Sinner team explain that Jannik has nothing against the LGBTQ+ community nor against the fight against the climate.
“Jannik is a respectful person, he has friends of all orientations and supports social causes in a discreet way – says his coach Darren Cahill – He simply doesn’t want to turn every interview into a political debate. He wants to play tennis, win tournaments, make the Italian fans smile. Period”.
Greta Thunberg, for her part, published a post on Instagram a few hours later: “Today I reminded a privileged athlete of his responsibilities. I don’t regret it. Silence is complicity.”
The post received over 300,000 likes, but also thousands of critical comments: “Leave those who play sports alone”, “Are you the one interrupting the live broadcasts”, “Barbie? Brilliant!”.
The episode reignited the debate on the role of athletes in social causes. On the one hand, there are those who argue that public figures like Sinner have a moral duty to expose themselves. On the other, those who defend the right to remain neutral, as Michael Jordan did with the famous phrase “Republicans buy shoes too”.
In Italy the reaction was overwhelming in favor of Jannik: a flash poll on Sky Sport TG24 shows 87% of viewers on the tennis player’s side.
Jannik, reached on the phone by our newspaper while he was training at Melbourne Park, remained faithful to his style: “I didn’t want to offend anyone. Greta does an important job, I do mine. I responded instinctively, in Italian, because I was at home. If anyone felt hurt, I’m sorry.
Now I’m thinking about defending the title in Melbourne.” And about the nickname “Barbie”? He smiled: “Barbie plays tennis in the film, doesn’t she? Then it’s fine.”
The confrontation had immediate consequences. The WTA and ATP have confirmed that they will not force any player to participate in external campaigns. Meanwhile, sales of Sinner merchandising have skyrocketed: the “I hit balls” sweatshirt is already sold-out on its official website.
This episode will remain in the history of Italian sport.
Not only for the ten perfect words, pronounced with the South Tyrolean accent and the calm of someone who knows they are right, but because it reminded everyone of a simple lesson: media and political pressure must not steal the show from those who, with humility and talent, represent Italy in the world.
Jannik Sinner didn’t shout, he didn’t insult. He only told the truth. And the audience, with that unanimous applause, said thank you.
In an era of endless controversies, the South Tyrolean has shown that sometimes just a few words – said at the right time – are enough to win the most important point. Chapeau, Jannik. And now, on to Melbourne: Italy is with you.
