Sinner Survives Wimbledon Scare to Hold Defending Title but Hobbles Off With Fitness Concern

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Jannik Sinner, the world number one and defending Wimbledon champion, won his first-round match on Monday but left the court hobbling after appearing to overstretch his leg during a point in the later stages of the match, a development that has dominated the British tennis press coverage through Tuesday and into the start of Day 3. Sinner won the match and was described by commentators as still producing brilliant tennis despite the apparent discomfort, but the visual of the Italian world number one limping has generated considerable anxiety about whether the tournament's primary favourite can sustain a run through to the second week.

Sinner defended his title last year by beating Alcaraz in the final and arrived at SW19 as the overwhelming favourite given his form across the 2025-26 season, which included victories at the Australian Open and French Open, a genuinely unprecedented single-season combination achieved only a handful of times in the Open era. The All England Club courts are reported to be in excellent condition this year and the weather has been warm and dry, producing faster surfaces than in some previous years.

With Alcaraz absent through wrist injury, the men's draw has a genuine quality vacuum at the top of the tournament. Djokovic is seeded seventh and placed in Sinner's half, a potential semi-final meeting that would be one of the most anticipated grass-court contests in years. Alexander Zverev, the French Open champion, anchors the bottom half of the draw. If Sinner's fitness concern proves serious, the tournament becomes genuinely open in a way that it was not at the start of the week, with Djokovic, Zverev, Fritz, Shelton and Auger-Aliassime all potential beneficiaries of any significant reduction in the world number one's availability.

Wimbledon 2026: Men's draw, schedule, results including Jack Draper, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovicwww.skysports.com