Tennis fans all saw it. Jannik Sinner, the clear ATP No. 1, with an obvious path to claiming his first French Open title, was stunningly knocked out in the second round. Not by his opponent, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, as much as by the oppressive Paris heat.
The problem is that this wasn't the first time that the Italian struggled in hot conditions. The heat affects him more than most other high-end players, and in the second week of Wimbledon 2026, the heat is expected to return. This time, Sinner is prepared for it, he hopes.
Speaking with the media ahead of the Monday, June 29, start to the grass-court major, Sinner said, "(I) need to practice in hotter conditions. I feel like everywhere where we play is going to be very hot. Every year is getting warmer and warmer. It is a very important topic."
Jannik Sinner believes he has a way to beat the potential Wimbledon heat
The Italian is making a statement about global warming, of course, but he's right. Maybe. One would have expected Sinner to already be preparing for the conditions he could play in. While many players have struggled with the recent heat issues in Europe, those same players don't have the same history of struggle that the Wimbledon top-seed does.
Perhaps he will always do so. He could simply have a system that doesn't allow him to operate in hot weather. That would be a shame because in milder temperatures, he is nearly unbeatable. Even recently against Carlos Alcaraz, who had previously dominated the head-to-head between the players. The Italian has won the last two meetings against the Spaniard.
That didn't happen in the Cincinnati Masters last August in the final when Sinner had to retire after being trounced at the start of the match by Alcaraz. Maybe the Spaniard would have won anyway, but with the ease with which he was dominating his greatest rival, something else seemed afoot. That was likely the Cincy summer heat.
Can practicing in extreme heat help Jannik Sinner during matches in the same situations? Does he need to learn to hydrate differently before and during long matches in arid conditions? What tennis fans don't want to see is the four-time Grand Slam champion never quite playing to his potential because he's beaten more by the weather than his opponent.
Wimbledon 2026 will test him in the second week, assuming he makes it that far. Temperatures are expected to rise to 31 degrees Celsius and higher (87 degrees Fahrenheit and higher) by week two. Alcaraz isn't playing the grass-court tournament because of a wrist injury. Let's hope Sinner's reason for not winning the Alcaraz-less major isn't because it was too hot in London.
Add us as a preferred source on Google