Every star has their fan club, and in tennis, there are plenty of superfans: Ons Jabeur has Seal in her corner and a fan who dresses up like the Tunisian flag, Coco Gauff has Jimmy Butler, and Tommy Paul’s biggest fan is a little kid who cheers him on courtside.
But the most unique fans in tennis and sports—maybe even the world—are none other than the Carota Boys.
Jannik Sinner’s Carota Boys are exactly what the term brings to mind: boys dressed like carrots. Their inspiration came from Sinner’s orange-red hair, as well as the famous moment when he ate a carrot during a changeover at an ATP event in Vienna way back in 2019.
The six Carota Boys first popped up at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome this past May, but they weren’t stopping at the Italian border. A few weeks later, they posted a photo on their Instagram in front of the Eiffel Tower: The boys in carrot costumes had arrived at Roland Garros and were ready to make their Grand Slam debut.
Five of the Carota Boys also journeyed to SW19 to see their favorite player take on Wimbledon, where the then-world No. 8 reached the semifinals.
Of course, they had to come to New York and see the US Open, carrot costumes, fresh carrots as microphones and all. They sat in Louis Armstrong Stadium throughout Sinner’s third round match, cheering him on as he battled 2016 US Open champion Stan Wawrinka.
In his on-court interview after the four-set win, Sinner thanked them for coming out, but thought they had already left the stadium. But never fear, the carrots were just coming down the stairs to get closer to their hero.
"It means a lot,” he said. “I haven't met them in person yet so it's going to be a good moment when I get to meet them finally."
At long last, the Carota Boys and their namesake got to meet and take selfies. It wasn’t a long interaction, but it was a touching moment for all who witnessed it.
During his press conference, Sinner said that he likes seeing them when he plays.
“It's nice to see them every time that I play. I follow them also on the socials, and, you know, they make funny videos and everything,” he said. “Our relationship [has] just started. It's nice to see them. I knew when they were doing this, that maybe they are a little bit different than the other fans. I guess that was the case, so I'm very happy to have them.”
And with their humor and high spirits, who isn’t happy to have the Carota Boys around?
