By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, May 5, 2024
Jannik Sinner met the media in Rome today and outlined his next steps as he rehabs his hip ahead of Roland Garros, which starts May 26th.
Photo credit: Mateo Villalba/Getty
Hip health is a bigger priority to Jannik Sinner than chasing a Roland Garros championship.
World No. 2 Sinner told the media in Rome today, he won't play Roland Garros if he's not 100 percent fully fit.
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A hip injury forced Sinner to concede a walkover to Felix Auger-Aliassime ahead of their scheduled Madrid quarterfinal. Sinner pulled out of Rome as he continues rest and rehab.
Meeting the media in Rome today, Sinner said his Roland Garros presence depends on his health.
"At Roland Garros I will only play if I am 100 percent, if there is half a doubt we have to see," Sinner told the media in Rome.
Australian Open champion Sinner declined to detail the extent of his hip issue, but said he did an MRI in Madrid the day after his victory over Karen Khachanov that showed "there was something not 100 percent right."
"There were days when I felt more pain and others when it was better," Sinner told the media in Rome. "With Kotov I felt quite a bit of pain, with Kachanov the day before the match it was better again. I knew something was wrong.
"We did an MRI and saw that there was something not 100 percent right. I went back to Monaco, we had other exams that made me make this decision that was not easy because I have to miss the most special tournament of the year for me. I have to accept it even if it hurts me and a lot of the fans."
The second-ranked Sinner is a national hero in Italy who led the Italian squad to its first Davis Cup championship in 47 years last November.
A sharp Sinner demolished Aussie Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 sealing Italy’s first Davis Cup championship in 47 years with a 2-0 triumph over Australia in the Davis Cup final in Malaga, Spain.
Now, Sinner is in a race against time to recover his health in time for Roland Garros, which starts on May 26th.
The 22-year-old Italian's best Roland Garros performance was a quarterfinal run back in 2020. Sinner fell in the 2023 Roland Garros second round before bouncing back to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.
Given his dominant 25-2 start to this season, Sinner will be a dangerous threat in Paris if he's healthy enough to post. The Miami Open champion made it clear he's focused on the bigger picture and will opt out of Paris if his body is not ready for the rigors of best-of-five-set tennis on the terre battue.
Playing Roland Garros without extensive clay-court player isn't ideal of course, but Sinner said the next couple of weeks will determine his status for the French Open.
"Now I'm going to have a period without playing," Sinner said. "We have to see from next week onwards how to work. The preparation for Roland Garros will clearly not be optimal, we will give our best to get there in the best possible conditions to compete but playing the Slam without matches in Rome is not easy.
"[We didn't believe the hip] was such a big problem, but with the MRI we saw that there is something not 100% right," Sinner said. "However, we have everything under control. If it doesn't get 100 percent cured, I'll stop a little longer."
For now, full recovery is Sinner's main mission.
"Taking care of your body is much more important than anything else. However, if I had to go back, I wouldn't know what to do better or differently. We hope to recover as soon as possible and come back stronger than before."