Jannik Sinner offers honest verdict on his level after shock Qatar Open exit
Sinner did not shy away from the conversation after his latest defeat, speaking at length to several media outlets. Some are even calling this a mini-crisis for the former world number one.
He was quick to address whether he is worried about his form, telling reporters: “Every player goes through ups and downs. I’ve had two incredible years, and now I’m having a little ‘down’, but it’s not something that worries me. I know I can play better tennis, but Jakub played and served really well.
“We all have ups and downs in our job, I’m not worried. We try to improve in every tournament I take part in: I’d like to go as far as possible, but it’s normal to go through some tough moments; I’ve had others that were even tougher in the past. I know how to come back.
“I’m a bit disappointed with how I handled some moments, but it can happen. Indian Wells will be the next stop; we’ll focus on that after a couple of days’ rest. We have two weeks to work, including on the physical side.
“I maybe made 2/3 wrong choices; I wasn’t at my sharpest, but it can happen. There are moments I have to go through, and that all tennis players have gone through. I hope to make up for it as soon as possible. All in all, everything’s fine, I’m not making a fuss about this moment. It’s all okay.”
Sinner later spoke with Sky Sports about what he hopes to achieve during Indian Wells and Miami: “We have Miami, Indian Wells, then we’ll try to find some rhythm. But I repeat, nothing happened, nothing serious. Here we are. We’re calm, we’re working well.”
“Let’s try to regain a little bit of confidence and then go to that point, let’s try to move forward, but now is the time for it to happen, all the players have passed and so I’m very calm and then if it starts again then I’m sure with the work we’re doing and that then the results will come.
“Maybe you don’t win Indian Wells, maybe not Miami, we don’t know, but here it is all work that sooner or later will pay off.”
Jannik Sinner’s 2026 record so far
Sinner’s form this year has been tough to measure compared to the start of last season, largely because he spent the first three months of 2025 serving a suspension immediately after his Australian Open win.
Still, it has not been an ideal start. He fell in the semi-finals in Melbourne and then exited in the quarter-finals in Qatar, both times against players he would have been favoured to beat just a year ago.
Last season, Sinner lost to just three players over the entire campaign. This year, he is already closing in on that number, and he has not even reached a stage where he might run into Carlos Alcaraz – who beat him four times last year.
Sinner currently holds a 7-2 record for the season. For context, he lost only six matches throughout all of last year.