Jannik Sinner’s underwhelming start by his lofty standards in 2026 recently became a talking point on a podcast featuring former American pros John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson. The Italian is yet to capture a title this year, and his quarterfinal exit in Doha only intensified scrutiny over his form.
Against that backdrop, the trio offered candid takes on whether Sinner might already be feeling the pressure, or even beginning to panic, this early in the campaign.
Former Pros Discuss Jannik Sinner’s Slow Start Amid Carlos Alcaraz’s Dominance
Jannik Sinner kicked off his 2026 campaign at the Australian Open, entering the tournament as one of the favorites after a dominant 2025 season that saw him capture six titles. Expectations were high for the Italian to defend his crown in Melbourne, and he navigated the draw with authority, booking a semifinal berth following a composed quarterfinal win over Ben Shelton. However, his run was halted by Novak Djokovic, who edged him out in a gripping five-set battle.
The graph, however, didn’t improve at the ATP 500 event in Doha. Despite securing easy wins over Tomáš Macháč and Alexei Popyrin in the first two rounds, Sinner couldn’t get past Jakub Menšík, shockingly falling in three sets.
While the Italian has yet to hit top gear this season, his arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz seized the spotlight by clinching both titles. With that contrast in momentum, Querrey pressed Isner on whether Sinner might be feeling the pressure, with Alcaraz pulling further ahead in their rivalry.
“I think Carlos is always on his mind and vice versa, right? I mean, those are the far and away best two players in the world. I don’t think so. I mean, he’s played two tournaments. I think just calm down, relax. He’ll get especially I mean, we know how good he is on hard courts. So, he has got a lot of hard-court events coming up. Big ones at that. Think he’ll be just fine. And I think we will see a big Sinner-Alcaraz match here in the near future,” Isner said on the Nothing Major Show.
Johnson chimed in, suggesting Sinner himself might begin questioning his trajectory if he doesn’t win major hard-court events soon, though there’s no immediate reason for panic.
“I don’t know what happened. He’s two in the world. He’s just in he’s reached his peak and now he’s going the wrong direction. There is no reason to panic, but I don’t think if he wins like Indian Wells or like Miami, then you start to question things,” he said.
“He has to win one, weirdly enough, in my mind. Otherwise, it’s like, dude, this guy’s like something really off,” Querrey added.
Johnson further explained that expectations are high because Sinner has dominated for years, losing to only Carlos Alcaraz. If he consistently begins losing to other players, it would be puzzling.
“Yeah just because of how good he is. He has earned that right? But he’s lost to no one except for Carlos, it seems like, for the better part of two years. So like if he starts losing to guys not named Carlos like more often, that becomes a little perplexing. But he set this bar for himself. So he’s only got himself to blame for the bar that he has set for how good he has been over the last three years,” he concluded.
Although the season hasn’t begun at full throttle for Sinner, the world No. 2 struck a calm and confident tone after his defeat in Doha, insisting he will “dig himself out of this”. With the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open fast approaching, attention now turns to how he responds on the big stage.
