Jannik Sinner‘s physical struggles, which saw the Italian knocked out of the French Open, have only fueled speculation about the physical limitations in his game. On her podcast, four-time Major champion Kim Clijsters was left confused and uncertain about what caused the top seed to physically disintegrate to the point that he could not secure the victory, despite being only one game away from the finish line.

“It was very confusing and, um, you know, you saw him grab kind of his left upper leg, his butt cheek, like, you know, is he cramping? Did he have a muscle tear?” asked a bewildered Clijsters on her podcast Love All.

“Like, I don’t know what was going on, but then, you know, it could be—like, for a second, I thought, is it injury-related? Um, so yeah, we don’t know, so we’re basically just guessing. But I think that the, um, the anxiety part and factor is something that is, uh, yeah, definitely also, I think, on top of, you know, where I think it, it, it went.”

There was already mild speculation about Sinner playing a match in the day session during the Paris heatwave, given the Italian’s struggles in the heat in Australia, as seen in his matches against Holger Rune and Elliot Spizziri over the last two years. However, this time around, it seemed that Sinner had taken care of the problem, having won the first two sets and leading 5-1 in the third set against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

What seemed a certain win turned into one of the biggest upsets, as Sinner’s body completely shut down in the third set, and the top seed could only win 2 of the next 18 games, with the Argentinian winning 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

Clijsters talked about the psychological aspect on her show, hinting that anxiety had a critical role to play in Sinner’s loss of power in his body. If one were to look at recent evidence, one need only look at the Italian’s match against Daniil Medvedev in Rome. The match was at night, but yet again, Sinner suffered from cramps, vomited on the court, and visibly shook. Former Grand Slam champion, Flavia Pennetta, who was on commentary at the time, cited the possibility of the Italian having an anxiety attack.

After his loss to Cerundolo in Paris, Sinner made no excuse for his form. He stated he felt ill on match day due to a lack of sleep the previous night. Understandably, Sinner has to take a stance like this rather than blame external factors, but other former pros have thoroughly dissected his case.

Former Players Have Their Say on Jannik Sinner’s Physical Condition

There have been various opinions on Jannik Sinner’s physical issues. Venus Williams lent an understanding ear to the Italian’s cause, noting that it was just a fluke that Sinner had not won a match lasting more than 3 hours and 50 minutes. Williams also admired the fact that Sinner stayed on court against Cerundolo, despite being compromised physically, giving his opponent the respect of earning the victory rather than a mid-match retirement. Even Clijsters had admired Sinner’s attitude of not leaving the court during the match.

On the other hand, Andre Agassi had a pretty harsh take on the Italian’s predicament, stating that a match that had lasted barely two hours should not affect a top player like Sinner. The former American pro questioned Sinner’s preparation tactics, suggesting that hydration could be an issue the World No.1 needed to address.

The Cerundolo loss in Paris is not a good look for a World No. 1 who could not win a single game due to physical issues after playing for less than two hours. But Sinner has shown in the recent past that he can maintain a very high level while playing top opponents in long matches, as seen against Djokovic in Melbourne this year, and against Alcaraz in Paris last year.

One should also not overlook the schedule that the Italian had played through in the lead-up to Roland Garros, which could have caused him fatigue during the match. However, Sinner’s ability to bounce back after a setback is tremendous, as the Italian will look to regain his form at Wimbledon, where he’s the defending champion.