French Open: Jannik Sinner granted controversial timeout for cramping: ‘This is absolute baloney’

Through his first two sets Thursday, Jannik Sinner was firing on all cylinders. After winning both sets, Sinner needed just one more to advance to the third round of the 2026 French Open.

But disaster struck in the third set. With Sinner up 5-1 in the set, he started dropping points rapidly. After losing 15-straight points to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Sinner grabbed his back.

Instead of receiving a time violation, Sinner was visited on the court by the umpire. Their conversation, which could be heard on the broadcast, included Sinner saying he was concerned he was dealing with dehydration. He was eventually allowed to take a medical timeout and briefly leave the court.

That timeout probably shouldn’t have been granted. Players are not allowed to take a timeout for cramping, and TNT analyst Jim Courier ripped that decision on the broadcast, saying it was “absolute baloney.”

Courier added, “That’s not fair. That’s not right.” And later said, “We love the top players, they drive the sport, but you’ve gotta apply the rules fairly. The rules are being bent for the top players.”

Sinner was able to return to the court, but dropped the third set to Cerundolo, extending the match.

The situation was eerily similar to something Sinner experienced at the 2026 Italian Open. During his match against Daniil Medvedev, Sinner began struggling physically in the third set, eventually being granted a timeout.

Medvedev complained on the court, arguing that Sinner should not be allowed a timeout for cramping. Medvedev’s complaints didn’t amount to much. Sinner recovered from the issue, returned to play and defeated Medvedev in the match.

After the contest, Medvedev called for a rule change, saying he would be in favor of allowing players to receive treatment for cramps on the court, per the-express.com.

“Allow medical treatment for help,” Medvedev said after the match. “Sorry. Allow medical, meaning physio, three minutes, when you have cramps.

This story will be updated.