Wimbledon is only a week away, and defending champion Jannik Sinner is already on-site. The Italian is all geared up for his title defense on the grass at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, after having a disappointing setback at the French Open. However, before he set foot on the center court, the Italian had to fulfill a longstanding tradition at SW19 in the company of Debbie Jevans, the AELTC chairman, who was also slightly apologetic to Sinner.

“I’m Sorry… Hopefully it’s only for a week”, said Jevans, as Sinner handed his Wimbledon trophy back before the tournament. Even though the trophy Sinner handed back was a replica of the main trophy, the symbolism of returning it is quite astute, as every defending champion has to start from scratch. Meanwhile, the real trophy is kept at the Wimbledon premises and unveiled only during the presentation ceremony in the final and for subsequent photo ops.

Having handed the trophy, Sinner was escorted by Jevans to the honors board, where the Italian was still in awe that his name was there. As the defending gentlemen’s singles champion at Wimbledon, Sinner will be part of the opening match on Monday on Center Court at 1:30 p.m. local time. His opponent’s identity will be revealed at the draw on Friday.

Every Slam has its own version of returning the trophy. Back at the Australian Open, the Italian had to carry the original trophy to the draw ceremony, with the trophy being taken out by the organizers for the symbolism of a fresh title charge. At the French Open, there was no “giving back the trophy routine,” but defending champion Coco Gauff was present at the draw ceremony, talking about last year’s memories when she won the title.

Last year, Sinner showed tremendous resolve at Wimbledon, avenging his Paris final loss to Alcaraz by winning three straight sets after dropping the first. This year too, the Italian is coming off a French Open heartbreak, and the weather ahead of the tournament isn’t in his favor.

Jannik Sinner is set to feel the heat even before the tournament

Sinner’s struggles in the heat and his exit from the French Open are well documented. Although Sinner didn’t blame the heat while playing on the clay court, the humidity and cramps he suffered broke him down, resulting in a shock loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in Paris. Unfortunately, just days ahead of Wimbledon, it seems that the heat may pose a challenge for the Italian once again.

The defending champion is playing an exhibition match against Cameron Norrie at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic in southern England. Britain’s national weather service has issued a ‘red warning’. The early afternoon temperature at Fulham, where the exhibition match is being played on Wednesday, will touch 33 C (91.4 F). One bit of good news for the Italian is that it will be relatively cool on June 29 when he plays the Wimbledon opening match, with temperatures potentially ranging from 16 to 24 degrees.

It could be a bigger problem if the heat wave persists well into the tournament. Following his French Open breakdown and struggling in Australia over the last two years, Sinner visited a hospital and underwent a range of tests. How that checkup has helped the champion remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Center Court at Wimbledon does have a roof, but it is usually closed for rain, not for heat, something that helped the Italian in his match against Eliot Spizzirri in Melbourne this year. Sinner, being the champion he is, will surely look to dispel the notion of his inability to play in the heat and aim for a successful title defense.