World No. 1 Jannik Sinner faced a tough choice as he prepared for his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Ben Shelton. The Italian star decided to cancel his practice session at Aorangi Park, raising questions about his fitness level ahead of the crucial match.
Jannik Sinner’s Elbow Puts Quarterfinal in Doubt
Sinner had a rough start to his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. In the very first game, he took a bad fall while sliding on the grass court, hurting his right elbow in the process.
The injury clearly bothered him during the match and he needed a medical timeout in the second set to get treatment on his elbow. Even though he kept playing, Sinner said he felt pain especially when serving and hitting forehands.
“It was a quite unfortunate fall,” Sinner told reporters after the match. “I checked the videos a little bit, and it didn’t seem a tough one, but I still felt it quite a lot, especially on the serve and forehand. I could feel it.”
Adding to this, Sinner said, “Let’s see tomorrow, we’re going to check how it is and we’ll see.”
The match ended in unexpected fashion when Dimitrov retired due to an injury of his own, giving Sinner a spot in the quarterfinals.
Cancelled Practice Session by Jannik Sinner Attracts the Attention of Tennis World
Sinner went for an MRI scan on Tuesday morning to check how bad his elbow injury was. He had initially planned to practice at 4pm local time at Aorangi Park, but the session was called off. Reports suggest his team decided it was better to skip the practice rather than deal with all the attention.
🩻 This morning, Jannik Sinner underwent an MRI to assess potential damage to his right elbow — following the fall that caused the pain.
He had also booked a training court at Aorangi Park.
But the session was cancelled just minutes before its scheduled start at 5pm CET.…— The Sinner Times (@sinnertimes) July 8, 2025
Italian media reported that Sinner got “reassuring news” about his elbow after the morning scan. However, the cancelled practice session still worried fans about whether he would be ready for his match against Ben Shelton.
Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill revealed that the Italian “dropped 6mph on forehand.” Cahill told the media that the Italian is okay, saying:
“We did go out to the indoor courts and just fed balls [to him] for 20-30 minutes, just to feel the ball. He’s going to be okay, it was just nice to get on the court — it’s impossible for him to take a day off.”
Cahill on Sinner’s elbow: he dropped about 6 mph on forehand.
“We did go out to the indoor courts and just fed balls [to him] for 20-30 minutes, just to feel the ball. He’s going to be okay, it was just nice to get on the court — it’s impossible for him to take a day off.”
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) July 8, 2025
The Italian is set to face 10th seed Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Sinner has a strong record against the American, leading 5-1 in their head-to-head. Whoever comes out on top, will take on either sixth seed Novak Djokovic or 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli in the semifinals.
