“I have been struggling a little bit with my right hip,” Jannik Sinner declared after his Madrid Open round of 32 earlier this year. Initially, it was not “serious,” but he withdrew from the tournament to focus on healing and not make the injury worse as the quarterfinal approached. Three months later, just when we assumed we could forget about his nightmarish injury, his lingering hip problem resurfaced at the Canadian Open. Is that the reason he could not perform his best in Toronto? Let’s listen to what he has to say.

When Sinner took charge of the game in the second set during the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open, our collective thoughts headed in one direction—this might be the comeback we were waiting for! Sadly, it wasn’t. In the third and deciding set, it was Andrey Rublev who held the power, ultimately finishing the game at 3-6, 6-1, 2-6. That was not the only unfortunate part. During the first set of the match, Sinner kept bending his legs twice with discomfort. A few glimpses of him limping on the court, holding his right hip, also raised concern about his previous injury. 

His discomfort continued even after the match halted due to rain and resumed later, where he kept holding his leg. Therefore, after the clash, in a press conference, a reporter asked the World No. 1, “Just to be sure, physically everything is okay?” The 22-year-old responded, “Yeah, it’s all okay. You know, I think these kinds of things are a bit more mentally than the physical for sure. Even if I know that my body is not as strained as I would like to because of last week, but it was also mentally for sure.”

The Australian Open champion, who skipped the Italian Open for the same injury, further added, “let’s hope to get back in shape. Obviously now making miracles in the next five days, it’s not possible, but being ready for Cincinnati and 100% I don’t think is possible.” Sinner might not perform in the Cincinnati Masters this year, but he is hopeful for the upcoming US Open, wherein last year he fell short in the round of 16.

The French Open semifinalist, who made a late decision to play in the Roland Garros in June owing to his hip, also spoke positively and said, “But then for US Open for sure I want to be back, which is also the main event for the U.S. swing, last Grand Slam of the year. So I’m aiming for that.” However, his hip is not the only trouble-causing element, as he is also suffering from one other medical condition.

Jannik Sinner opens up on his “tough tonsillitis” issue that increased his trouble

Ahead of the Olympic Games, Sinner declared he would not be debuting because of his illness. This time, it was not his hip but his tonsillitis, which became a major concern. It is a condition in which a person’s throat gets inflamed and sore due to a bacterial or viral infection. Although he has recovered, Sinner talked about the condition in an interview recently.

“The tonsils were not removed because that would require a little more time for recovery. Tonsillitis was tough, I took antibiotics for almost a week and didn’t touch the racquet for days. When I left for Canada, I wasn’t in perfect condition, now I feel much better and stronger every day.”

He also mentioned how he couldn’t watch the 2024 Olympics as it “broke his heart,” as he was unable to perform in Paris and fulfill his goal for the year. Last year, it was this same Canadian Open tournament where he reigned over every player and claimed his title. Hopefully, he will overcome his troubles and come back stronger in the upcoming Grand Slam!