Jannik Sinner Knocked Out of French Open in Stunning Upset by Juan Manuel Cerundolo
The unthinkable has happened at Roland Garros.
World No. 1 and heavy favorite Jannik Sinner is out at the French Open after losing 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in a stunning second-round upset on Thursday.
The 24-year-old, who needs a title at Roland Garros to complete his career Grand Slam, struggled mightily during the match due to both cramps and heat. Prior to the day's events, he had been on a 30-match winning streak extending back to February.
It was widely believed-or at least expected-that Sinner would make a run to the tournament finals, especially with reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz out with a wrist injury.
Jannik Sinner only needed to win one more game to advance to the third round
- TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) May 28, 2026
An all-time upset today at #RolandGarrospic.twitter.com/dCthjJvgFZ
Despite a 5-1 lead in the third set, Sinner lost control of the match as obvious exhaustion began to take over. He was attended to by the medical staff at one point and, by the end, was barely even running back and forth. When the match started, the temperature was 84 degrees Fahrenheit; by the end, it had risen to 90.
Sinner has struggled in the heat before, as was the case at the Australian Open, when he cramped during this third-round match with Eliot Spizzirri. He still rallied to win, though, once the roof was closed over the court.
"I feel sorry for him because he deserved to win a lot of matches, and of course, he was deserving to win this match, but then I don't know what happened," Cerundolo said after the fact, speaking on-court.
Sans both Sinner and Alcaraz, this marks the first time both the World No. 1 and No. 2 are not in the Men's Singles third round at Roland Garros since 2000, when those rankings belonged to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
The 56th-ranked Cerundolo, meanwhile, is now the lowest-ranked player to defeat a World No. 1 from two sets down at Grand Slam since 1973.
Already having moved on to the third round are Novak Djokovic, Tommy Paul and Alexander Zverev, among others. The No.4-ranked Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner (three of which were at Roland Garros), is now the only remaining men's player in the draw to have completed a career Grand Slam. Cerundolo will face the winner of Vít Kopřiva-Martin Landaluce, currently in play, on Saturday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jannik Sinner Knocked Out of French Open in Stunning Upset by Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 11:22 AM.