Jannik Sinner has admitted he is going through a “tough time” after the world No.2 suffered a shock defeat to Jakub Mensik at the Qatar Open on Thursday.
Sinner, 24, returned to action earlier this week for the first time since losing to Novak Djokovic in the semi-final at the Australian Open last month. And the Italian made an impressive start in Qatar in beating Tomas Machac and Alexei Popyrin to progress through to the last eight.
But Sinner’s tournament was ended as he lost 2-1 to world No.16 Mensik. Despite winning the second set 6-2, Sinner lost the first 7-6 and then the deciding third 6-3 to crash out against Czechia ace Mensik at the quarter-final stage.
Delivering his immediate post-match reaction, Sinner opened up on having a “little downturn” right now, with the 2001-born star not performing at his best. “Every player faces ups and downs,” he said.
“I’ve had two incredible years, and now I’m having a little downturn, but it’s not something that worries me. I know I can play better tennis, but Jakub played and served really well. We all have ups and downs in our jobs, so I’m not worried.
“We try to improve in every tournament I enter: I’d like to go as far as possible, but it’s normal to go through some tough times; I’ve had even tougher ones in the past. I know how to come back.”
Sinner enjoyed an excellent 2025 on the major circuit, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon as well as reaching the final at the French Open and US Open. It cemented his spot as the second-highest-ranked tennis player in the world behind Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sinner at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows.
But Sinner, who did win the US Open in 2024, has one major honour to complete off the list and that is the French Open – a tournament he has never won during his career.
“One of my biggest goals will be Roland Garros, but that goal is still far away,” Sinner added. “We’ve seen that all players have struggled throughout their careers, but I wouldn’t call this ‘fatigue’ yet (smiles), I’ve only lost a couple of matches.
“I also have to remember what I’ve done in the last three years, where I’ve won a lot of matches and lost very few. The confidence to play good tennis is there, it’s there.
“Indian Wells is usually a tournament where I struggle a bit, we’ll see what happens there, while in Miami I’ve always played well. Then the clay season will start. I’m trying to add a couple of new things, today they didn’t work as well as I would have liked, but not every day is the same.”
Sinner could next be in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, starting on Monday. It’s unclear, however, at this stage whether he will enter that competition.