PARIS (AP) — Two days after Jannik Sinner’s shocking meltdown at the French Open, it’s still unclear what exactly the issue was that led to him wasting a seemingly insurmountable advantage in his second-round match.
What is clear, though, is that the top-ranked player has had a series of issues with heat and cramps in big matches throughout his career.
Sinner said after wasting a two-set and 5-1 advantage in his five-set loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo
that he didn’t feel well when he woke up the morning of Thursday’s match.
Amid a week-long Paris heat wave, the temperature on Court Philippe-Chatrier rose to 32 C (90 F) during the match, and Sinner was clearly having a tough time cooling himself down as he reached for multiple ice bags and used a hand-held fan.
Still, he said the heat wasn't the issue.
“I think many things together caused this problem,” he said. “I just need my time now to process what went wrong here.”
It was Sinner’s 12th loss in 18 career five-set matches.
Here’s a look at some other matches during which Sinner had physical issues:
Less than two weeks before his French Open defeat, Sinner leaned on his racket bent over in exhaustion during an Italian Open semifinal against Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner had his right thigh treated by a trainer midway through the second set and drank pickle juice to relieve cramps. He was seen vomiting or spitting something out in the corner of the court in the night match, which was held in humid conditions.
Still, he had regained control of the match before it was suspended overnight due to rain, and he came back the next day and finished it off in three sets and went on to win the title.
In the third round of this year’s Australian Open, Sinner was limping and desperately trying to stretch out cramps in his arms and legs amid severe heat against Eliot Spizzirri.
Sinner acknowledged he was lucky when the extreme heat rules saved him and the roof was closed just as he went down a break in the third set. He won it in four sets.
The Italian star, who was the two-time defending champion in Australia, was beaten by Novak Djokovic over five sets in the semifinals.
Amid extreme humidity in the third round of his title defense at the Shanghai Masters in October, Sinner retired midway through the third set against Tallon Griekspoor.
He limped between points and frequently massaged his right thigh in the deciding set. On a changeover, he didn’t sit and instead put his legs up on his bench to try and ward off a cramp.
Sinner retired 22 minutes into the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz last year because of illness, amid extreme heat.
He put an ice pack on his head during a changeover but was clearly having trouble from the start.
“Didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner said. “Also during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match. But it was not meant to be for me today.”
It was the first time in his career that he retired during a final. After he stopped playing, Alcaraz went over and put his arm around his rival as Sinner sat in his chair.
In the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open against Holger Rune, Sinner advanced in four sets as both players struggled with the heat.
In the third set, Sinner’s hand was trembling during a changeover. He asked for a trainer, and told a ball kid to bring him something to drink from his team. The player’s pulse was checked, and then he trudged off with a towel draped around his neck and a bottle in each hand.
Sinner went on to win the title.
During a five-set loss to Medvedev in the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinals, Sinner felt ill and dizzy and said he hadn’t slept well the night before.
He was treated by a trainer and left the court during the third set, then briefly surged before faltering again.
(corrects from cucumber juice in Rome section of previous story to pickle juice)
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
