Jannik Sinner arrived at the All England Club as the world No. 1 and defending Wimbledon champion, preparing for a tournament in which he will attempt to claim his fifth Grand Slam title and his first major of the 2026 season. His pre-tournament press conference covered several significant topics — from his physical condition following a concerning collapse at Roland Garros to the coordinated protest over Grand Slam prize money that has seen top players restrict their media availability to 15 minutes during the first week of Wimbledon.
Sinner’s last competitive outing was a shock second-round defeat at Roland Garros last month, during which he suffered a notable physical episode that prompted medical testing. When asked about the nature of those tests, the 24-year-old Italian offered reassurance. “No, were general tests to see health-wise how I was, to be sure that all is okay with the body, which is,” he said. “All tests were really good.”
However, Sinner drew a broader conclusion from the experience, identifying rising temperatures as a structural concern for the sport. “Even though we are very sure we need to practise in hotter conditions. I feel like everywhere where we play is going to be very hot. Every year is getting warmer and warmer. It a very important topic,” he stated. He added that he and his team have made adjustments to his preparation in response, describing them as incremental rather than sweeping. “I always believe in small details and small changes,” he said. “There’s no magic behind. But yeah, we are doing as much as we can. I’m very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks.”
On his approach to Wimbledon having skipped the grass-court warm-up circuit — a contrast to his heavy schedule leading into the French Open — Sinner pointed to the psychological advantage of arriving without the weight of recent results. “If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play,” he said, referencing his 2025 Wimbledon campaign in which he reached the final despite losing in the second round at Halle the week prior.
Sinner is one of a number of leading players who have been limiting their press conference appearances at Wimbledon to 15 minutes as part of a protest over Grand Slam prize money distribution and broader player welfare concerns. When asked whether the action was yielding results, Sinner acknowledged incremental progress while clarifying the scope of the grievance. “It’s not about the money — not only about the money. It’s the whole scenario we take into consideration with welfare and everything else,” he said.
He declined to answer two specific questions on the subject. When pressed on why players had not engaged with Wimbledon’s offer to establish a player council to address welfare concerns, Sinner shut down the line of questioning. “I just think it’s better if we don’t discuss here. I don’t like to talk about this at the moment. Thank you,” he said. He was similarly brief when asked whether the protest was moving closer to a boycott. “The Grand Slams know what we ask, then we see how it goes. Again, I’m here now to talk about tennis,” he responded.
The prize money dispute has become one of the more prominent storylines heading into the 2026 Wimbledon Championships, with multiple top-ranked players aligning behind the protest. Sinner’s status as the reigning champion and world No. 1 lends particular visibility to the campaign. His first-round match will mark his return to competitive action following the Roland Garros incident, and the draw — widely reported to be a favourable one — has done little to reduce expectations around a deep run at the tournament he won for the first time in 2025.
