Getty

Italy's Jannik Sinner loses to Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo during the 2026 French Open.

Jannik Sinner entered the 2026 French Open seemingly untouchable. With two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz out with a wrist injury, it was difficult to imagine anyone stopping Sinner from completing a career Grand Slam in Paris.

He easily took down Clement Tabur in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 during the first round at Roland Garros. The 24-year-old was expected to once again cruised to an easy victory against Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo in Round 2.

GettyItaly’s Jannik Sinner exits the 2026 French Open in the second round.

The world No. 1 was up two sets and leading 5-1 in the third when things started to fall apart. Up 6-3, 6-2, 5-1, he proceeded to lose 18 points in a row before requesting medical attention. In the sweltering heat, Sinner returned to the match but lost three more games and the set.

Losing to Cerundolo, ranked No. 56, stunned the tennis world. He’s the first No. 1 seed to exit in the second round since Andre Agassi in 2000. After the match, Sinner took to Instagram to share an update on his career plan.

Jannik Sinner Plans to Take Some Time Off After His Shocking Defeat

Sinner posted on Instagram, “It was not my day today 💔 We’ve had an incredible year so far but now I need some time off. Thank you all for the amazing support and congrats to @juanmacerundolo on a solid match. See you soon. Au revoir, Paris 🇫🇷🙏🏻.”

It’s unclear how much time Sinner plans to take off. It’s hard to imagine he misses Wimbledon, which kicks off at the end of June. However, he did not commit to the tournament. After becoming the second man to ever win all nine Masters 1000 titles since Novak Djokovic in 2018, then tennis phenom deserves a break.

Sinner’s girlfriend, Laila Hasanovic, liked the post and the comments section filled with supportive messages.

“Let’s hope we’re ready for Wimbledon,” Sinner told reporters. “To be ready there, we need to recuperate well and do things right now.”

Jannik Sinner Didn’t Blame the Loss on the Extreme Heat in Paris

GettyItaly’s Jannik Sinner acknowledges the crowd after his early exit from the 2026 French Open.

While the heat, which rose to 90 degrees during the match, is undoubtedly playing a factor in many player’s performances, Sinner said his struggles were beyond the weather. “It was warm but not crazy warm,” Sinner told reporters. “I feel like it was quite OK to play. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.

“I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy. Very low of energy. Tried to serve it out, but didn’t have a lot of energy. Fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. Very important game the first one. Couldn’t hold. Then it went a bit downwards.

“But, yeah, woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that’s it.”