The fall out from Jannik Sinner’s shock second-round exit at the French Open continues to rock tennis and former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has served up his own theory on why the world No 1 is struggling to deal with hot conditions.
Sinner was on the brink of beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo at Roland Garros until he was struck down by what appeared to be a heat-related slump that ended with a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 defeat.
He was the outstanding favourite to win the Roland Garros title after a dominant run of success in the events leading into the second Grand Slam of 2026.
Yet the four-time Grand Slam winner will have to wait to complete his collection of major titles after he was sent tumbling out in circumstances that left so many questions.
Sinner retired due to a cramping issue at last year’s Shanghai Masters and he then struggled with a similar issue in his semi-final against Daniil Medvedev at the Rome Masters last month.
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Now, 1997 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has floated the idea that Sinner may still be suffering from a virus that left him lacking energy in his semi-final defeat against Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.
“It’s basically heat exhaustion, or maybe he had something with the virus he had in Australia,” said Rusedski on the latest episode of his podcast that will be released on Monday.
“Everybody’s saying, Sinner’s got a weakness and it’s mental. That’s nonsense. He’s not going to choke when he’s two sets to love up and 5-1 against a guy who is beating him easily.
“I heard he has a virus in Australia that was holding him back and these viruses can linger. When you are winning matches as easily as he has been, you can cruise through matches, but the heat got him in Paris. That’s the only explanation that makes sense to me.
“Sometimes viruses take a long time to get out of your system. Look at Emma Raducanu over the last few months.
“Jannik also said he felt sick on the morning of the match.
“So the only people who actually know what the truth of the matter is Jannik Sinner and his team. And he’s got a fantastic team. They will be looking at everything. The agent will be looking at everything. They will find a solution to this problem.
“But they also don’t want to tell us what the problem is exactly, which is also good coaching because it makes us talk, what is it? What’s happening here? What’s happening there? Because you don’t want to give any advantage to your opponents.”
Rusedski went on to draw comparisons between Sinner and Novak Djokovic, who struggled physically in the formative stages of his career before a change of diet changed the game for the 24-time Grand Slam legend.
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“Djokovic had that reputation where everybody said he would give up. He wouldn’t fight through and then he became gluten-free,” added Rusedski.
“All of a sudden, he found the solution, went from strength to strength, gone on to win 24 majors. I like to look at the numbers. Right now, at 24 years of age, [Roger] Federer had won four Slams. Rafael Nadal was on six. And Djokovic was on four.
“So Sinner’s right there at four right now, and Alcaraz is on seven, which is one ahead with the injury. So that comparison is very intriguing, and it shows that Sinner and Alcaraz are right there with the greats.
“Anyone who suggests this defeat will knock Sinner long-term, forget it. He is coming back stronger and better.”
READ NEXT: How Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have affected Roland Garros even after their exits
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