Jannik Sinner had been enjoying the season of his young career before injury struck.
With three titles to his name in 2024, including a major too, he was on track to end the year battling with Novak Djokovic for his coveted world number-one spot.
And whilst that could still come to fruition, the fact that he could now miss a huge, vital chunk of the clay-court season will not help him in the pursuit of his goal.
One notable name has now confirmed his own worries about this latest setback.
Ivan Ljubicic on Jannik Sinner’s injury worries
Speaking to Sky Sport 24 (via Tennis World USA), Ivan Ljubicic, who coached Roger Federer for six successful years just after a spell with Milos Raonic, weighed in on Sinner’s injury woes.
The 22-year-old was forced to retire from the Madrid Open despite making his way into the quarter-finals and has already since ruled himself out of Rome.
Then, confirming the severity of the setback, his Roland Garros has been thrown into doubt too.
This has Ljubicic worried, detailing exactly what he thinks might have caused the injury: ‘The change of surface from concrete to ground, where you slip, is a problem for those who have hip pain like Sinner, or the balls are heavier because they take moisture from the ground, putting more stress on the elbow and arm, as happened to Carlos Alcaraz.
‘Players move more and more and hit harder and at a certain point the body tells them enough is enough. Jannik’s problem is not serious, but important and not to be underestimated.
‘The Roland Garros is upon us, Wimbledon is around the corner and the Olympics immediately after. We saw how many withdrawals there were in Madrid, let’s say that the players at this stage of the season are more sensitive than usual and attentive to what their body tells them.’
Jannik Sinner’s stunning season is being hampered
This claim comes after Paul Annacone, another of Federer’s former coaches, outlined his own worries over Alcaraz’s persisting injuries.
It seems like, for all the supreme talent these young new starlets boast, the physical demands of the ATP tour are already failing them early on in their careers.
And it is such a shame for Sinner in particular, who was enjoying quite comfortably his best year thus far.
Having kickstarted 2024 with his maiden Grand Slam title, winning the Australian Open, he would follow up that triumph with more success in Rotterdam and Miami to propel himself to second in the world.
It marked a career-high, and he was truly looking unbeatable until Alcaraz halted his run in Indiana Wells.
Many pundits, including Nick Kyrgios, even predicted Sinner would go on to enjoy further Grand Slam glory this year given his form. Hopefully, injury permitting, he can prove them right.
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