Jannik Sinner Admits He ‘Didn't Feel Very Well' Before Elimination

Jannik Sinner was the heavy favorite to win the French Open after his top-ranked opponent Carlos Alcaraz withdrew his name from the tournament amid injury.

The Italian took a dominant lead in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, winning the first two sets 6-3, 6-2. He had a commanding 5-1 lead in the third set before the 24-year-old visibly struggled physically midway through the third set.

From 5-1 ahead, Sinner lost 15 consecutive points as Cerundolo surged back into contention on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Eventually while serving at 5-4 and down 0/40, Sinner abruptly left the court for a medial timeout. He eventually lost the set – and the match – despite his massive lead entering the third set.

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After the match, Sinner admitted he didn’t feel well even before the match started.

“I woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that’s it,” he said.

Sinner revealed he tried to conserve energy by losing the fourth set, but couldn’t get right in time.

“I struggled and started to feel very dizzy, very low on energy. I tried to serve it out but didn’t have a lot of energy. In the fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. The first one was a very important game and I couldn’t hold. Then it went a bit downwards,” he said.

With Sinner and Alcaraz gone, the French Open will have a new winner, unless Novak Djokovic claims his 25th grand slam title at 39 years old.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 12:26 PM.