Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon run this year was phenomenal, to say the least. Before playing Grigor Dimitrov in R16, the World No. 1 had yet to lose a set. But his R16 clash with Grigor Dimitrov told a turbulent tale that no one expected. Yes, the Bulgarian’s injury in his right arm saved Sinner’s day despite losing the first two sets and helped him reach the quarterfinals. But this match is proving to be costly for Jannik as well.

During the first set of that match, Sinner slipped on the grass and braced his fall with his right arm, leading to sharp elbow pain. As of now, there is no report of any potential injury to Sinner’s elbow. But a medical time out and a painkiller, which Sinner had to take during the match, raised only concern about whether he would be able to complete his SW19 dream.

Today, ahead of his quarterfinal face-off against Ben Shelton, he was set to have a practice session on grass. But the Italian had to skip it while waiting for the MRI scans to see if everything was fine. On Tuesday, Sinner’s main coach Darren Cahill came up with a gloomy update on the World No.1’s condition.

It’s reported that Sinner practiced on indoor hard courts instead of grass. According to Cahill, there’s “No news on the MRI just yet,” reported ATP’s website on July 8. He continued, “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.” So, is everything alright as of now? Doesn’t seem to be the case with how Cahill has put it.

Justifying Sinner’s surprising choice to play on hard courts, he explained, “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,”

Whatever said and done, there’s still no confirmation on whether Sinner will play Wednesday’s quarterfinal against Shelton. The early signs were noticed during his post-match press conference after the fourth round. So what did the Italian say about his injury?

Jannik Sinner on the “unfortunate fall” in the Wimbledon fourth round

While Jannik Sinner made it to the QF stage after Dimitrov’s walkover, he had a lot to say about his own fitness going forward. Expressing honest feelings over his elbow injury, the World No.1 said, “I mean, it happened very early in the match, you know, the first game, and it was a quite unfortunate fall. I checked the videos a little bit, and it didn’t seem like a tough one, but you know, I still felt it quite a lot, especially the servant forehand, so I could feel it.”

Hoping to get some positive update, he added, “So, um, let’s see. Tomorrow, we are going to check to see how it is, and then we will see,” Obviously, he didn’t sound super confident in his tone.

Given that there’s no physio in his team as of now, things are looking doubtful. However, he tried to assure, saying, “Here they have good ATP physios. In any case, the doctor is good and as I said, tomorrow we’re going to check with you know MRI and to see if there’s something serious. And then we try to adjust it.”

Sinner made his best run at Wimbledon during the 2023 edition. Back then, he reached the semis before losing to 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic. Last season, though, he failed to move beyond the quarterfinals. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev bested him with a score line of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.

Speaking of Sinner and Shelton’s H2H equation, the Italian is leading the tally 5-1. In fact, Sinner even won at the grass major against the 22-year-old American. Last year, he beat him in the fourth round. In case he gets fit before the match, they will meet again at the All England Club, but for a semifinal spot. Do you think the three-time slam champion will be able to defy his injury and compete? Let us know in the comments below. And don’t forget to stay on top of every twist and turn in the Championships with our Live Blog.