Jannik Sinner is only a few weeks away from making his tennis comeback, and there is a lot of speculation about what will happen when he does. We thought it was time to bring our own predictions into the equation, so let’s take a deeper look at what Sinner might accomplish after he returns from his doping ban.
The last time Sinner stood on a tennis court was in Australia in January. He last played an official match on January 26th against Alexander Zverev, which he won. Sinner only played seven matches in 2025 and won all of them, so it’s safe to say he was incredible when he did.
That doesn’t mean that he’ll be brilliant immediately upon his return, but there are a few things that might point to that happening. While Sinner was away from the sport, nobody really shined in his absence. Alcaraz had a few moments, and some other players did too, but nobody played so well that there is consensus about them being ahead of Sinner.
In fact, the peak tennis we’ve seen this year does belong to Sinner in Australia, and it’s not even close. So Sinner should be really good upon his return. After all, he didn’t just lounge on his couch the entire time. He did take some time off, but knowing Sinner, he also worked a lot on his game. Whenever he’s had a long time away from the sport, Sinner returned as the more complete version of himself.
He’s also been practicing with some of the tour players, being spotted with Jack Draper not too long ago. He’s also been prepping on clay, which is a surface that’s very familiar to him and a surface on which he plays really solid tennis.
From a purely tennis standpoint, Sinner should be fine, and he should be good right away because the consistency which he built up over the past year won’t go away that easily, especially not on clay, which might be one of the surfaces that is more forgiving than some other ones.
But none of this means that things will go smoothly, of course. There are indications historically that things might be somewhat tough for Sinner, at least in his first rodeo, which will be at the Italian Open.
What Might Go Wrong for Sinner?
Sinner had missed time in the past, but unlike most players, he was able to bounce back into the swing of things very fast. It demonstrates how hard he works on his game because even the best aren’t as sharp as he is when he returns from a long layoff.
A prime example was last year after his tonsillitis, when he was able to win an event quickly upon his return despite being rather ill with it for a while. That bodes well for the Italian, but things can go wrong as well. Life is rarely perfect, and as a player who has had issues with his body in the past, Sinner might experience physical trouble.
While he’s worked a lot on his body and improved both his stamina and his strength, he still appears a bit frail. He doesn’t look as physically imposing as somebody like Carlos Alcaraz or Rafael Nadal despite being in fantastic shape.
Jumping back into competitive tennis might put his body under a lot more stress than it’s been used to in the past few months, and that might result in injury. Everybody hopes that it doesn’t happen, but there is a chance, especially since he’s had a history with minor and nagging injuries like that.
That is the biggest issue that Sinner could face because purely from a tennis standpoint, he should be good to go immediately. If he doesn’t play his best tennis immediately, it won’t be a massive issue either because he will have time to figure things out.
The Italian will give himself a chance to play a couple of matches, and he might even opt to play at a smaller event like Geneva after that one just to get some match fitness.
Roland Garros is a goal for him, and while it may not be a realistic ambition, the event will allow him to work himself into shape during the early rounds. He performed admirably there last year and is considered to be a strong contender if he returns.
Overall, we should anticipate Sinner to return in good shape, possibly as a better version of himself, and he should have no trouble getting back into the swing of things. He’s simply an excellent player, and a few months of practice will not change that.
