#19/2026: While Sinner Stepped Back, France Stepped Forward.
A weekly note on the game — Why Jannik Sinner chose patience over Montreal, and why it was a week French tennis will not soon forget.
Who honestly saw this coming? I’ll admit it: I certainly didn’t.
Perhaps because we live in a sport that seems obsessed with adding more rather than taking things away, Sinner’s decision tells a much bigger story than the withdrawal itself.
The two times Wimbledon Champion choosing to skip not only a Masters 1000 event, but also walking away from what could have become one of the most extraordinary achievements the sport has ever seen, winning all nine Masters 1000 titles, inevitably leaves mixed feelings. On one hand, the decision is driven by physical management. On the other, it’s difficult not to wonder whether Roland Garros played a part in shaping this choice. Sinner arrived in Paris having played five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments, packing little more than two months of relentless tennis into an already demanding schedule.
The reasons behind what happened in Paris, where a two-set lead and a 5-1 advantage against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo somehow slipped away, remain known only to Sinner and his team. Sinner himself admitted that he understands what went wrong, while also acknowledging that it could happen again. If you’re wondering exactly what it is, the answer is simple: we don’t know. And perhaps we never will. Everything else is speculation.
Even the extra week between Wimbledon and Montreal ultimately proved insufficient. Sinner won’t be the only notable absentee either. Carlos Alcaraz continues his recovery, while Novak Djokovic has also decided to stay away. Montreal remains one of the most prestigious events on the calendar, but it once again finds itself paying the price of its position in the schedule, squeezed into the second half of the season with the US Open looming just around the corner. At this stage of the year, the unexpected is never far away.
While the Tour heads to the ATP 500 in Washington this week, alongside ATP 250 events in Los Cabos and the WTA 250 in Memphis, last week’s headlines belonged to France.
Quentin Halys captured his maiden ATP title in Kitzbühel, finally succeeding where six French players before him had fallen short. Meanwhile, Luca Van Assche lifted his first ATP trophy in Estoril, becoming only the second French champion in the tournament’s history after Richard Gasquet in 2015. Together with Arthur Fils’ triumph in Barcelona earlier this season, the two victories underline what has quietly become an excellent year for French men’s tennis.
Tennis rarely stands still. It simply moves on to the next stop. This week, however, it pauses just long enough to remind us that sometimes waiting is part of the journey too.
Thank you for reading The BreakPoint Notes. Your time, every week, means more than you probably realise. Until next week.