Jannik Sinner just played his first grass-court match of the 2025 season at the Halle Open, but it didn’t go the way he hoped.
The world No. 1 took some time off after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final. While Alcaraz headed to Ibiza for vacation, Sinner stayed home with his family to recharge.
Both players came back to tennis two weeks before Wimbledon starts. Alcaraz chose Queen’s Club in London, while Sinner picked the Halle Open in Germany.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner | 24 | 15,405 | 33 - 3 |
Defending His Title
This tournament means something special to Sinner. He’s the defending champion after winning it last year – and it was actually his first event as the world No. 1.
Pretty amazing that he’s back exactly 52 weeks later, still holding that top ranking.
But unlike last year, Sinner didn’t start with singles. He jumped into doubles first, which is pretty common when players are switching surfaces. It helps them get used to grass courts faster.
Doubles Disappointment
Sinner teamed up with fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego for doubles. They’ve played together before, though not as much recently.
Their opponents? Karen Khachanov and Alex Michelsen – both singles players who’d already gotten some grass-court experience the week before.
That experience showed early on. Khachanov and Michelsen had break points on both Italians’ first service games. They converted the second chance to take a 2-1 lead.
But then something clicked for Sinner and Sonego.
They won five straight games to steal the first set 6-2. That momentum carried into the second set, where they raced to a 3-0 lead.
The Comeback
A 6-2, 3-0 lead should be pretty comfortable, right? Not so fast.
Khachanov and Michelsen fought back hard. They won three straight games to tie the second set at 3-3. Later, when they were down 4-5, they won an incredible 12 out of 13 rallies to take the set 7-5.
That’s the kind of tennis that can break your spirit.
In the super tie-break (which replaces a third set in tour-level doubles), Sinner and Sonego just ran out of gas. They lost 3-10, ending their tournament in the first round.
What’s Next
Now it’s time for singles, where Sinner will face qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in his opening match.
Sonego gets another German opponent in Jan-Lennard Struff. As for their doubles opponents, Michelsen will take on Francisco Cerundolo, while Khachanov faces Zizou Bergs.
Sinner will be looking to defend his singles title after this doubles setback. Sometimes a loss can actually help you refocus for what really matters.
