Sinner's Illness, the Mystery of the Diagnosis. Anxiety Attack Hypothesis: "Very Strange Tremor"

Melbourne, 21 January 2025 – “I wasn't feeling well, I felt dizzy. No injuries, just a few health problem. I fought against a tough opponent, but also a little against myself." Jannik Sinner, at the end of the eighth finals of the Australian Open won in four sets against Holger Rune, preferred not to clarify the details on the malore that hit him between the second and third set of the challenge against the Dane. A few words to admit the physical problem, without going into detail, however.

Jannik Sinner, number 1 in world tennis

The images of hands that were shaking – Jannik seemed to be struggling even to hold the towel near the face and the water bottle – they were impressive and have scared all the fans of the world number 1 in tennis. The South Tyrolean at a certain point began to move on the field with difficulty, he seemed almost dazed and having trouble breathing. Of course the conditions in Melbourne were quite difficult between scorching heat and mugginess, but it was Sinner himself who admitted that something wasn't working since the morning: "It was all a bit strange. I arrived at the court very late, I also changed my pre-match routine, choosing to give up heating".

Learn more:

Sinner, what happened and how he is. The illness against Rune: hands that shook and difficulty breathing

The Italian champion managed to overcome the moment of crisis and conquer the pass to the quarter-finals against the Australian alex deminaur, but they remain unknowns about his physical condition. He spoke of “health problems” and this challenge against “myself”.

That everything is then due to a mental aspect? Is it possible that the tremor was caused by a anxiety attack? A scenario that Emilio Sodano, former doctor of the Italian national team in Davis and today health manager of the Tennis Federation, he doesn't feel like excluding it. Because "I was also surprised by that tremor - Sodano's words -. It was a strange mode. Of course, from so many thousands of kilometres away it is impossible to make a diagnosis: I can only put forward some hypotheses...”. And his idea is that it was a “anxiety and fear” reaction, not something “organic”. “The way that tremor happened,” he said, “was very strange. I would rule out dehydration, even in those very hot conditions: the match had just started, the tennis players drink a lot and are careful to keep the situation under control. I don't even think of a pressure decrease, the situation was resolved very quickly. Dizziness for a labyrinthitis? No, it gives severe vertigo and he would have collapsed to the ground". If anything, according to Sodano, it could have been "a psychological reaction in the face of an unexpected illness, an anxiety reaction, a fright”, given also the speed with which the tremor disappeared.

So there remains the mystery around Sinner's diagnosis in Melbourne. Who had also already experienced something similar last year in Wimbledon in the quarterfinal defeat against Medvedev: “That experience helped me to manage the discomfort,” he explained. Jannik will play the Australian Open quarterfinals against de Minaur Wednesday 22 January at 9.30 Italian timeThe hope is that he is in the best condition to earn a place in the semi-finals.