Jannik Sinner Huge Doubt For Wimbledon Quarterfinal After Canceling Practice

Jannik Sinner's hopes of winning a maiden Wimbledon title might be over after he postponed a planned training session before his quarterfinal against Ben Shelton.

Sinner's fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov ended heartbreakingly when the Bulgarian sustained a pectoral injury. The 34-year-old won the first two sets and was close to causing a huge upset.

That dreadful moment and Sinner's good fortune to be in the quarterfinal overshadowed the Italian's own physical issues in that contest. He stretched his elbow out several times and looked in discomfort.

Sinner's elbow issue might be even more severe than many initially thought. The ATP world No. 1 was scheduled to practice at 4 pm local time in London, but he and his team decided to cancel it.

As of when this article was published, Sinner had not received the results from an MRI scan of his elbow. Hopefully, he ultimately receives good news, and fans can be treated to what promised to be a great matchup between him and Shelton.

Sinner pulling out of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships is not certain. He and his team might just be acting cautiously after deciding there is no point in taking any unnecessary risks the day before a match.

Nonetheless, the latest news is still worrying. All significant tournaments are better with the best players either present or knocked out after an inspired performance from their opponent. Withdrawals because of injuries are always sad.

If Sinner does play against Shelton, he will need to perform much better than in the previous round. The injury made his underwhelming performance understandable, but Shelton is capable of punishing him if it happens again.

Many expected Sinner to cruise into the quarterfinal after how much he dominated in the opening three rounds. He broke Roger Federer's record for the fewest games lost in the opening three rounds after only dropping 17 against Luca Nardi, Aleksandar Vukic, and Pedro Martinez.

Although Sinner was hampered somewhat by his elbow, Dimitrov played outstandingly. His serve fired, and the Belarusian's slice worked terrifically against the three-time Grand Slam champion, who struggled badly against it.

Shelton's serve is even better than Dimitrov's and one of the best on the ATP Tour. The American is one of the few players who can take the racket out of their opponent's hand for an entire set by consistently hitting his spots on serve.

If fit and healthy, Sinner will undoubtedly take significant confidence from his record against Shelton. Since losing their first meeting at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, the world No. 1 has won their last 12 consecutive sets.

Sinner has done an outstanding job of being clinical whenever he has had an opportunity in those sets. He defeated Shelton 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 at last year's Wimbledon and 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the 2025 Australian Open semifinal.

Shelton was utterly demolished in the final two sets against Sinner in Melbourne but has not been beaten to that extent since. His solid results this season were not enough for him to be among the 2025 Six Kings Slams players, an entry list that includes Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.