Jannik Sinner struggles with another health setback at China Open

Tuesday, 30 September 2025 at 16:53

byErik Virostko

It seems that Jannik Sinner's body is really trying to stop him at the 2025 China Open, but he keeps winning.

Sinner entered the China Open draw as a former champion and the biggest favorite to win the title this year. One of the reasons was Carlos Alcaraz's absence. The Spaniard chose to compete in Tokyo instead, and it proved to be a correct decision, as he won the Japan Open.

However, Alcaraz's win didn't come without an injury scare, which was ultimately one of the reasons why he withdrew from the Shanghai Masters. Sinner, too, has struggled with his health at the ATP 500 event in Beijing.

He first appeared to be struggling with his elbow, and at one point, the Italian also clutched his leg after falling. Despite all of that, he still reached the final at the China Open, beating Alex de Minaur in three sets. It was a challenging match for the world No. 2, but he was happy to outlast the Australian.

"Yes, I feel like it's obviously great to be again in a final. It's a special, special place to be. Yeah, it's a lot of effort, a lot of tough matches, as we saw today. I'm even more happy to play here again the finals. Every year's different. I'm very happy. Let's see what's coming tomorrow."

Like at almost every press conference he held in Beijing this week, Sinner was asked about his health once again. The 24-year-old revealed that while there aren't any injuries bothering him, he has been struggling with a different health problem, which meant he lost a lot of liquids.

"It's nothing serious. I had some diarrhea the last couple of days. I lost some liquids. But I feel good. Was also a bit of tension. The mix of tension and the past couple days were not easy. But yeah, I'm feeling good. No concerns for tomorrow. It's all safe."

Sinner will hope to be at his best for the final match. His opponent will be Learner Tien, who is a 19-year-old player, rising through the ranks on the ATP Tour.

Jannik Sinner reveals whether he watches Carlos Alcaraz's matches

During his press conference, Sinner was also asked about his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, and his final match against Taylor Fritz in Tokyo. The Japan Open final was played a day earlier than the final in Beijing, and Sinner revealed that he has closely followed his rival's progress.

"I watch matches. Not only here, but also in other tournaments. As I would say, I like to watch tennis. I'm mostly a tennis fan. I watch every match. It's good. I've never been in Tokyo, so I don't know. Seems the condition for how it plays, like in TV, seems a little bit different to here. But yeah, I do follow."