Jannik Sinner reveals what his least favourite surface in tennis is out of grass, hard and clay courts

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Jannik Sinner has found success on all surfaces throughout his young and decorated career already.

Sinner returned to tennis at the Italian Open, following three months away from the ATP Tour.

Despite being low on matches, Sinner was able to beat Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul and Francisco Cerundolo to reach the Rome final for the first time.

However, the world number one could not go all the way after Carlos Alcaraz beat Sinner to win the Italian Open title.

Jannik Sinner reveals what his least favourite surface is

Alcaraz beat Sinner, 7-6(5) 6-1, to win his fourth consecutive match against the world number one and lift the Italian Open for the first time.

When reflecting on the loss in his post-match press conference, Sinner admitted that he needs to work on his movement and intensity ahead of Roland Garros.

The 23-year-old also admitted that clay is the surface that he enjoys playing on the least.

“Last year in Paris the situation was different, the condition,” said Sinner. “To change level I have to change little things. Surely the movement, even understanding where to be is sometimes a little different between hard courts and clay.

“But in general it was a good test to see where I am on clay, good to play before two Slams against him. We have to improve, it’s the surface where I struggle the most.

“But it’s the first tournament, the surface I like the least … reaching the final is good. I have to raise the intensity for Paris and keep it up for as long as possible.”

Jannik Sinner’s record on clay vs hard vs grass

Although Sinner views clay as the surface that he struggles on the most, he actually has a 72% win percentage on the surface throughout his career.

This is better than his record on grass courts, and Sinner has also won a title on clay before.

That title came on the clay courts of Umag in 2022, where Sinner actually beat Alcaraz in the final.

The Italian Open was Sinner’s first final on the surface since then, with his best Roland Garros result coming last year when he reached the semi-finals.

Despite Sinner declaring that he believes it is his worst performing surface, he will be one of the favourites heading into the next major tournament as the top seed.

The 2025 edition of Roland Garros will get underway on Sunday May 25.