Jannik Sinner is shaking up his Wimbledon preparation, and it's a move that has fans and analysts talking. After falling short in the semifinals of the Australian Open, the Italian star now has only one major title defense left on his 2025 calendar: Wimbledon. And he's already making a bold scheduling change ahead of his return to the All England Club.
Sinner lifted his first Wimbledon trophy last year in a thrilling final against Carlos Alcaraz. That victory was especially sweet after a heartbreaking loss to the same rival earlier that season at Roland Garros, where Sinner missed three match points. Now, he's looking to defend his crown—but he's taking a very different path to get there.
For the past three years, Sinner has used the Halle Open as his final grass-court tune-up before Wimbledon. He won the ATP 500 title there in 2024, then followed it up with a quarterfinal run at SW19. Last year, he exited Halle in the second round—only to go on and win his first Wimbledon title. This time, though, he's not on the entry list for the 2026 event in Germany.
Instead, it appears Sinner will head straight to Wimbledon without playing any grass-court warm-ups. It's a strategy that might raise eyebrows, but it's one we've seen before. Novak Djokovic famously skipped pre-Wimbledon events earlier in his career and still found plenty of success on Centre Court.
Sinner got off to a flying start at the 2025 championships, moving past Luca Nardi, Aleksandar Vukic, and Pedro Martinez without dropping a set. But his tournament nearly came to a halt in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian took a two-set lead and seemed destined for the quarterfinals until a pectoral injury struck with the third set tied at 2-2.
From there, Sinner seized the moment. He swept through his quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic, respectively, in straight sets to set up a blockbuster final rematch with Alcaraz. The Spaniard was bidding for a Wimbledon three-peat and won the opening set, but Sinner fought back with grit and determination to clinch the trophy.
Whether this no-warm-up approach pays off again remains to be seen. But if his past performances are any guide, Sinner knows exactly what he's doing. For tennis fans and apparel enthusiasts alike, it's another exciting chapter in the rise of one of the sport's brightest stars.