World No. 1 Sinner Practices With Arm Sleeve Ahead Of Cincinnati, But Is He Injured?

Thursday, 07 August 2025 at 12:10

byErik Virostko

Jannik Sinner is set to play his first tournament since winning the title at the Wimbledon Championships, and ahead of his return, he spoke about an injury concern surrounding his elbow.

Sinner won the Wimbledon title this year, despite being down 0-2 against Grigor Dimitrov in his fourth-round match. It was in the third set of that match that the Bulgarian player was forced to retire because of an injury.

But Dimitrov wasn't the only player injured in that match. Earlier in the match, Sinner also injured himself. He fell already at the start of the match, and seemingly struggled with his right elbow since that moment.

Eventually, Sinner was lucky to advance after his opponent retired, but since then, he has appeared on the tennis court with an arm sleeve to protect his elbow. At Wimbledon, he also had heavy strapping under that sleeve, but that wasn't present ahead of the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

Sinner already had his first practice session in Cincinnati, and he sported the arm sleeve. However, as he explained during his pre-tournament press conference, it's not a reason for concern. He simply liked playing with the sleeve, feeling he was more stable with it on.

"Today was the first time that I put the sleeve on because I liked the feeling of the sleeve. The impact with the ball is slightly more stable, that’s my point of view and I liked it at Wimbledon."

"I had to see how it is when it’s very hot and humid because it’s a little bit different. It’s gonna be something that I take into consideration, but I really love the feeling of pure striking."

Sinner explains the reason for his withdrawal from Toronto

After winning the title at Wimbledon, Sinner was one of the top ATP players who withdrew from the 2025 Canadian Open. Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Jack Draper were some of the other players who withdrew from the event.

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During his press conference in Cincinnati, Sinner explained that he withdrew from the event in Toronto to properly recover after his win in London, feeling like he had previously rushed his returns to the courts, and it didn't help him.

"The body and mind need to recover and need to understand what happened. I’m very happy I took some time off after [Wimbledon], seeing my family and friends and very important people I have around."

"In the past, I made some mistakes sometimes, starting too early at times. I had conversations with the whole team, trying to understand what’s best. When you win big titles, they are very special moments and [then] you have to leave them."

Sinner also spoke about the renovations in Cincinnati. The tournament organizers spent hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to improve the venue, something the World No. 1 player noticed.

"It’s amazing what they did in one year. Everything has improved so, so much, but mostly the space they have for us players. Things inside and outside, the dining area is much, much bigger and when you come from the transportation, it’s like a hotel. It’s amazing. Incredible."