Jannik Sinner ‘crisis’ put into perspective by former British No 1

Kevin Palmer 27 Feb 2026 6:30 PM

Laura Robson talks about Jannik Sinner

The incredibly high standards set by Jannik Sinner over the last couple of years mean any minor dip in fortunes comes as a surprise, but former British No 1 Laura Robson has dismissed suggestions that the Wimbledon champion is in the midst of a mini crisis.

Sinner was beaten by Novak Djokovic in a shock result at the Australian Open last month and he then lost against Jakub Mensic in the Qatar Open last week.

The level of dominance Sinner and Alcaraz have developed over their rivals means any defeat for the duo sends shockwaves through tennis, but Robson has laughed off claims that Sinner is looking vulnerable heading into the ATP 1000 events at Indian Wells and Miami in March.

“Everyone would love to have a Sinner-style crisis,” Robson told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview at a Sky Sports Tennis event in London.

“I think we all just read too much into every result those guys have if they lose because it happens so infrequently. It’s like the world is ending. I’m pretty sure they will be just fine.

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“He went straight to America after losing in Qatar to get ready for Indian Wells and I’m sure he will be fine when he gets on court again.”

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski joined Robson in playing down concerns over Sinner’s form, as he offered up this verdict on the latest edition of his podcast.

“I’m not worried about Sinner at the majors,” said Rusedski. “We’re seeing more variety in his game and we got to give respect to the rest of the tour,” he said on his Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.

“He’s lost matches back to back, having not won a tournament. This is a rarity,” began Rusedksi. “Is he losing form? Is he losing confidence? Are players figuring him out? I’m not so sure. It’s a minor blip in my opinion.”

“Look at Novak Djokovic. He was the only man who won three back-to-back Australian Open. Jannik Sinner was trying to do the same. If you look at every category statistically for that match [semi-final at the Australian Open], Sinner won every category apart from the final point of the match, which went to Novak Djokovic.

“Novak came up with an incredible performance to find a way to win that match. On paper, it didn’t look like it was going to happen. And we’re talking about two players in the beginning of the year, Hubert Hurkacz and Mensic who we said, watch out for those two.

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“Mensic when he’s on form moving well, nobody wants to play him and let’s not forget this time of year He starts to play really well last year.

“He beat a certain guy by the name of Novak Djokovic in the Miami final. So you got to take it with a little bit of a pinch of salt here. Sinner could have easily have won that one, but Mensic played the big points so so well.”

Sinner has a chance to eat into Carlos Alcaraz’s lead at the top of the ATP Rankings over the next couple of events, as he has no points to defend from this time last year after he missed this period of 2025 as he served a three-month suspension for a doping offence.