French Open 2026 | 'Started to feel dizzy': Sinner tries to explain shock loss at Roland Garros
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "French Open 2026 | 'Started to feel dizzy': Sinner tries to explain shock loss at Roland Garros")
'Started to feel dizzy': Sinner tries to explain shock loss at Roland Garros Photograph: (X/Roland Garros)
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner crashed out of the 2026 French Open in the second round, losing to Juan Manuel Cerundolo after cramping in sweltering Paris heat. Sinner cited poor sleep and fatigue, not the weather. Djokovic now has a clearer path to a record 25th Grand Slam title.
The biggest upset of the 2026 French Open arrived on Thursday (May 28) with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who had not lost a match in 30 consecutive games, was beaten by Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo — ranked 56th in the world — in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros. Sinner went down 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1, having led 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 on a sweltering Paris afternoon before his body simply gave way. Sinner won just two of the final twenty games and the loss ended a career-best winning streak of 30 matches. For Cerundolo, it was the first top-10 win of his career.
How did Sinner lose after leading so convincingly?
The answer, by Sinner's own admission, was illness. "Woke up, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short," he said after the match. "Also, in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I kind of hit the wall."
In his post-match press conference, he explained what happened: "Struggled. Started to feel very dizzy. Very low energy and tried to serve it out, but didn't have a lot of energy." Sinner, however, was keen not to make the conditions an excuse. "It was warm, but not crazy warm," he said. "I feel like it was quite okay to play. It was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. Was just me today, but it happens."
"It’s tough to accept because of the position where I’ve been in and everything considered, but now I have a lot of time to recover,” he said. “I won’t play any tournament on grass before, most likely. Now I really need some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again for Wimbledon," he acknowledged.
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What next for Sinner — and how does Djokovic benefit?
Sinner, who will remain the world No. 1 despite the early exit, said will now have plenty of time to recover and prepare for Wimbledon, where he is the reigning champion. The bigger story, though, is what this means for Novak Djokovic. This could be Djokovic's best, and maybe final, opportunity to win a record-setting 25th major title. With Sinner gone and Alcaraz not playing, it guarantees a first-time major finalist from the upper half of the draw — and the path to Djokovic's historic title just got significantly clearer.
