Jannik Sinner’s preparation for Wimbledon this year has been far from conventional as he looks to defend the grass court Grand Slam title after French Open heartbreak.
According to Tennis365, the Italian has decided not to play a competitive warm-up on the grass, after snubbing the Halle Open for the first time since the 2022 season.
Sinner will, however, play an exhibition event on the grass one week prior to Wimbledon at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club.
The World No. 1 will play alongside Flavio Cobolli, Cameron Norrie, Casper Ruud, Luciano Darderi, and Karen Khachanov at the London event.
However, is preparation for his first grass court event is somewhat unconventional, as he has been spotted practicing in Monte Carlo in the last few days.
In a video posted to social media, the World No. 1 can be seen hitting balls on a hardcourt in Monte Carlo, just 13 days before his first match at Wimbledon.
The transition from clay courts to grass is hard enough, which is part of the reason why this year’s Halle Open has such a stacked entry list, but to move to hardcourts in between seems illogical.
While it is very pleasing to see the World No. 1 back in action, particularly after his health issues at Roland Garros, he has surely given himself a disadvantage already at Wimbledon.
After his performance at Roland Garros, Sinner already enters Wimbledon with several question marks floating above his head, with many suggesting he might not even be the favourite to win the Grand Slam.
His Wimbledon win last year helped him improve his record, but he still only holds a 75% win rate on the surface. He has won 29 matches on the surface, losing 10.
