The big match between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Wimbledon is shrouded in all kinds of uncertainties. And we are not just talking about the 2 impressive players who will go head-to-head for a place in the semi-finals. Since the R16 bout against Grigor Dimitrov, Sinner has been in the headlines because of the injury concern he suffered.

Ironically, that R16 match was decided when Dimitrov himself got injured and couldn’t continue. But Sinner has had his own challenges to deal with. And quite a few over his career. Injury is always a frustrating setback for any sportsperson. Let’s see what the World No. 1 has had to encounter besides the 2025 Wimbledon troubles.

Jannik Sinner’s early career struggles with injuries and illness

The athlete that you see today, the machine that played the longest Final in Roland Garros history, well, it was not always like this. In the early days, the lanky Italian faced problems ranging from muscle problems to illnesses that kept him away from the court. His 2022 season was the worst. The Italian missed the play in the months of January and February due to Covid illness.

And it carried on to the Indiana Wells tournament in March, where his R16 opponent, Nick Kyrgios, got a walkover due to Sinner’s flu issue. Besides these, he also suffered a minor hip issue in Rome. One of the big ones came in Sofia, where he sprained his ankle in the semi-finals clash against fellow youngster Holger Rune. The match was in the 3rd set when a point saw him collapse on the court in writhing pain.

And it derailed his season for the next few weeks as he had to withdraw from the Florence tournament, too. And the horrendous year finished with him pulling out of the November Davis Cup Finals due to a finger injury. Incidentally, he suffered that injury in the Paris Masters in October.

Even in 2023, he had quite a few injury challenges. He quit in the R16 of the ATP 250 Marseille in February. Another walkover in April saw his Barcelona campaign come to an end in the quarterfinals. He also had to concede big ones in Halle and the Paris Masters. While it was a walkover in Paris against Alex de Minaur, in Halle, he quit mid-match in the 2nd set against Alexander Bublik.

As for Grand Slams, the youngster has had his misfortunes, too. In 2022 only, he had to retire from the Roland Garros during his R16 match against Andrey Rublev due to a knee injury. Incidentally, Sinner also had a similar experience against Rublev in 2020. The 2-time Grand Slam Champion got injured in the first set of the R16 clash in Vienna.

You can understand that it has not been a smooth journey at all. And again, in 2025 Wimbledon, he has his brush with pain and a whole lot of discomfort.

Jannik Sinner’s elbow concern during Wimbledon 2025

The thing is – you have to be at your best when you are playing a competitor like Ben Shelton. And the elbow issue he suffered in the R16 match will be concerning. It happened when the Italian fell down while sliding during a point, elbow first, banging hard against the ground. He had to take a medical time-out and played the rest of the match on painkillers. Hours away from the game against Shelton and the World No. 1 is still in doubtful territory.

Sinner missed normal practice the day before the match with Shelton. Instead of working on grass, the Italian did light training on hard courts. And his camp waited anxiously for the MRI result. His coach, Darren Cahill, spoke to ATPTour.com on July 8. “He had it earlier today and he can’t take a day off, so he wanted to touch the ball… So Simone and myself just fed him a few balls out of the basket.”

Cahill continued, “It’s not a bad thing sometimes [to practise on hard court]. The more you play on grass with the uneven bounces, the more your timing goes off.” It was damage limitation for Team Sinner, and as you saw in the match against Ben Shelton, Sinner has been feeling some issues.

You know what? There have been more bumps in his journey that he has had to overcome.

Sinner’s hip injury that forced a withdrawal from the 2024 Italian Open

In recent times, the biggest issue he faced was in 2024. A hip injury saw him drop out of playing in the Italian Open, his home tournament, and a 1000 pointer. And this happened after the Italian had to quit the Madrid Masters a few weeks ago in April. Sinner was supposed to take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, but the French player got a walkover. In fact, the hip problem had its origin in the Spanish capital only.

It was a big threat to his Grand Slam aspirations as the French Open was just weeks away. Fortunately, the Italian recovered in time to have a good run in the Major. He reached the semifinals before getting stopped by eventual Champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Foot blisters sideline Jannik Sinner at the 2022 Miami Open

Remember the wretched 2022 year? As if illness and muscle issues and finger injuries weren’t enough. The Italian also missed a big event that season due to blisters. In the Miami Masters in March, Sinner reached the QF and was having a great run. But in the early periods of the match against Francisco Cerundolo, Sinner felt something and just couldn’t continue.

It was blisters on the right foot that made it unbearably painful for him to run. It appeared there in the match before, and Sinner tried to give it a go, but sometimes, it’s just not possible. But he is a competitor. And he has fought it all and is now one of the fittest players on the circuit. But that involved a radical change in his training and a huge help from his coaches.

How Jannik Sinner bounced back stronger after repeated setbacks

The World No. 1 spends a lot more hours in the gym to be tougher and stronger. He adds tennis drills to be more fluent on the court. But for the fitness, there is one special man who deserves mention – Umberto Ferrara. Talking to Tennis Majors in April 2024, coach Darren Cahill said, “He’s (Farrera) been a genius in what he’s been able to do.”

Continuing, he explained, “When you come in to a team, is that firstly you map out the progress that you need to make. You’re very clear on the training that he needed to do. You don’t try to pack in six months of work into two months. You break down the athlete. Umberto has been unbelievable in that.”

And Sinner trusts his fitness trainer quite religiously. “Umberto has been able to map out the training. Jannik is committed to it. It’s not easy. So Jannik has bought in, he’s committed to doing the work. Now he’s starting to reap the benefits of a lot of work from what he started two years ago.”

Talking particularly about the injury issues, Cahill said, “He’s able to understand his body much better now, as well. He understands when he’s getting a slight strain or a bit of a niggle or a little bit of cramp or whatever it might be, and then there are some things you need to worry about; some things you don’t.”

“I think previously he used to worry about a lot of the little feelings he had with his body,” Sinner’s coach said. “Now he has a lot more confidence in his body, and that’s thanks to the work he’s done with Umberto.” And a lot more has gone into the training regime. Sinner adds an F1 training programme that monitors your brain usage during workouts.

The objective is to make the actions more and more automatic so that he is using less brain power during some activities. That helps him optimize his performance and bodily resources, both physical and mental. This revolutionary programme, as per HerCompus.com, puts Sinner under various tests under stress, teaching him to stay calm and composed during the match. The aim is to teach him to lower his emotional impact during mistakes and negative thoughts.

And it is so evident now, in 2025, when you see him play. The man is a mentality monster, a stoic performer who also has amazing fitness and athleticism. Not to mention, the man has all the shots in the book. Can he go all the way in the 2025 Wimbledon? Don’t miss a moment—get minute-by-minute coverage of the Championships on EssentiallySports.