There’s been an element of mystery behind World No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s on-court collapses at the two majors preceding Wimbledon this year.
At the Australian Open, the Italian dealt with severe dehydration and cramping in his five-set loss to Novak Djokovic. Thereafter, at the French Open, he once again struggled to cope with the heat as he shockingly dropped 18 consecutive points after going up 5-1 in the third set against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. He would lose in five sets.
After his collapse at Roland Garros, Sinner took the calculated risk of skipping all the events in the lead-up to Wimbledon — to address his issues with dehydration. He underwent a series of “confidential” medical tests at Raffaele Hospital in Milan, where, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, doctors performed “in-depth cardiac and metabolic tests” to rule out any pathology or deficit. Notably, they wanted to investigate the core reason for his “numerous bouts of physical weakness” this year.
Jannik Sinner Reveals ‘Conclusion’
While Sinner’s camp has kept the results of his tests close to its vest, the man himself provided an update after his 6-3, 6-3 win over Cameron Norrie at the Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club — days before his first-round match at Wimbledon.
“We did some testing, we tried to understand what happened, we came to a conclusion which is very good,” he told the media, via Tennis365.
“So, we worked very much, we changed a little bit the work as well, trying to see how my body reacts in different conditions. And that’s it,” he continued.
“At the same time, things can happen. I know it’s an unpredictable sport, but I try to see the positive thing.
“I’ve had some good practice weeks, trying to put in as much fuel as possible also for after Wimbledon, because it’s very long with Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open. You don’t have a lot of time to work physically, so we did a lot of work in the last couple of weeks.”
Jannik Sinner Braves the Heat
Some fans thought it was rather bizarre for Sinner to refer to his on-court collapses as a “positive thing,” but did take solace in his suggesting that the tests ruled out any cardiac- or nerve-related issues.
Another positive piece of news is that Sinner didn’t experience any dehydration issues during his match at the Hurlingham Club or in his practice sessions at the All-England Tennis Club.
“That’s exactly what I need, a good preparation before starting the tournament. From Monday on, it is not that warm, but if it is warm, we did a lot of work. We cannot do more than this,” Sinner said of his warm-ups before Wimbledon.
“In future, we will always try to practise where the warmer conditions could be, because I feel like every tournament is getting warmer and warmer every year, so it’s going to be important, but we did a lot of work. Also today was a good preparation.”
With Carlos Alcaraz pulling out with a wrist injury, Sinner is the overwhelming betting favorite to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title.
Jannik Sinner Medical Tests ‘Conclusion’ Raises Eyebrows Before Wimbledon