World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was knocked out of the 2026 French Open in the second round on Thursday, 28 May 2026, collapsing physically after leading 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 against world No. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo before the Paris heat overwhelmed him.
What began as a routine afternoon on the Roland-Garros clay turned into one of the biggest upsets in tournament history, as reported by Sky Sports. Sinner, who entered the tournament as the runaway favourite, had not lost in 30 consecutive matches.
He finished the day beaten 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1, a scoreline that tells one story while the footage tells another entirely.
How Sinner lost a match he was winning
The temperature at the start of the match sat at 29 degrees Celsius and rose to 32 degrees during play. Sinner was one game from closing out the third set when his body gave out.
He bent over on the clay multiple times, visibly dizzy, and accepted a medical timeout at 5-4 in the third to receive treatment for cramping, nausea and dehydration.
Cerundolo, who had been swept aside for two sets, sensed the shift immediately. From 1-5 down in the third, the Argentine won six of the last seven games to steal the set. He carried that momentum across the fourth and fifth sets, winning them comfortably as Sinner became increasingly unable to generate pace or movement.
Former champion and commentator Jim Courier publicly questioned the handling of Sinner’s medical timeout, suggesting the length of the break was unusual under the rules.
What the exit means for the French Open title race
With Sinner gone before the third round, Roland-Garros 2026 is wide open in a way it has not been for years. The world No. 1’s absence removes the dominant form line from the draw entirely.
Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, now enters the quarterfinal phase as the clearest favourite, though the draw has compressed in ways that could benefit several unseeded players.
For Sinner, the defeat ends a run that had included back-to-back Grand Slam titles and an unbeaten stretch stretching into 2026.
These were his comments after the fixture:
What comes next
Sinner is expected to reassess ahead of the grass season, with Wimbledon beginning in late June 2026.
Whether the French Open collapse is a one-day anomaly or a sign of fatigue going into the second half of the season will define how he is discussed between now and the year’s final major.
