“I need really some time off to recover completely, also mentally”: everything you wanted to know about Sinner’s loss, and we were not afraid to ask
Jannik Sinner opens up about his unexpected Roland-Garros exit, where he led by two sets and 5-1 before his body gave way. The Italian star explains he had ‘no energy left’ and needed time to recover, both physically and mentally, after such an unexpected experience.
Jannik Sinner, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Julien Nouet / Tennis Majors
This is a match that already belongs in the Roland-Garros history books, alongside Nadal–Söderling or Chang–Lendl. Jannik Sinner led Juan Manuel Cerúndolo by two sets and 5-1 before his body gave way, losing 18 of the final 20 games to fall 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-1 6-1 in the second round. Speaking in English and Italian, and more openly than he usually is in victory, a depleted Jannik Sinner told the media the story behind the images that had just travelled around the world. The world No.1 refused to blame the heat. He did not clarify whether he was the victim of a heat stroke, of cramp, of injury, or of both. He said only that he had no energy left. And he did not omit to credit his opponent for the near-perfect match that exposed him. “Congrats to him. I don’t want to take anything away from him. He played a very solid match, especially in the end, and that’s the sport.”
What exactly happened from the 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 lead?
Jannik Sinner: ‘From 5-1, I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy. Very low of energy. I tried to serve it out, but didn’t have a lot of energy. It started in the middle of the third set, even though I was playing some great tennis. I really couldn’t find any energy today. I was very, very flat, you know, the whole body. I don’t remember the last time I felt this weak. It was a tough spot to be in. This is sport.”
DID HE SEE IT COMING?
Jannik Sinner: ‘I woke up this morning and I didn’t feel very well, so I tried to keep the points very short. Usually in Grand Slams you have a couple of days where you don’t feel perfect. This was today. This happens. Sometimes when you start moving, you feel a bit better, and I did feel a bit better. After the warm-up I showered, and we got ready for the match. Middle of the third set it started to hit me, and I couldn’t get out of it anymore. In the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that’s it.’
Was the heat the cause of everything?
Jannik Sinner: ‘It was warm, but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite okay to play. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today. In general, many things come together. There’s not only one. I played a lot. I didn’t have a lot of time to recover. I came here, I had a very good first match, really solid, but when you come back the day after, you still don’t have a lot of time, even though I finished late, but not crazy late. I think many things together caused this problem today, but again, it can happen.’
Once he had decided not to retire, what was going through his mind as he tried to find a way anyway?
Jannik Sinner: ‘Fourth set, I let it go a little bit, trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. The first game is very, very important. But I couldn’t hold. Then it went a bit downwards. It certainly wasn’t the start I wanted to that set, but that’s how it went. There were chances, someone to go up, and I couldn’t take them. What I was thinking, rather, was that today I didn’t see the way out. Normally that doesn’t happen to me. But today I couldn’t do more, honestly.’
Was this the same problem as in Shanghai in 2025 against Griekspoor, where he retired, or in Melbourne in 2026, the cramps against Spizzirri?
Jannik Sinner: ‘Today was a completely different scenario. It was warm, but it was okay. It was not like I was dying because of the heat. I think Shanghai was very tough. With the humidity very high. Australia was very, very warm, I do remember. It’s different when you play on hard court, because the heat comes also underneath. With all these kinds of setbacks, each one is different from the next. It’s hard to say it’s exactly the same thing. Today it was really something different. Too many things together, and I couldn’t pull myself out of it today. Sometimes I manage to pull myself out a little better, find other solutions. Today, none. Today I had no energy. But I’ll repeat it, it can happen. Nobody’s a robot. Nobody’s built to never fail. Today it went this way, and then we’ll see. I need really some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again.’
