All the truth of what happened today in Australia: Did they favor Sinner so he could win?

Jose Morón | 24 Jan 2026 | 13.05

The whole truth of what happened today in Australia: Was Sinner favored to win? Photo: Getty

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Everyone is talking about what happened in today's match at the Australian Open between Jannik Sinner and Elliot Spizzirri. Everything stopped when the Italian was losing 1-3 in the third set, as the tournament applied the heat rule. Upon return, Jannik turned everything around, and some speculate about favoritism and acting in favor of the two-time reigning champion there. Was it really so?

Let's set the scene. It's a scorching hot day. The thermometer nearly hits 40 degrees, and the players suffer on court because of it. Sinner, who has experienced moments like this in the past, loses the first set to Spizzirri and, although he takes the second, he starts the third set trailing, down 1-3.

Jannik begins to show signs of fatigue. He suffers cramps, can barely walk, and tells his team he can't go on. The shadow of retirement, as in Shanghai, looms over the two-time tournament winner. His team encourages him to continue, knowing there would be a break to rest at the end of the set. It's then that the match is paused by the organization, at 1-3 down for Sinner. Some wonder what's going on.

From there, a lengthy 10-minute break, the roof closes, and the air conditioning is turned on. This allows the Italian to regain energy and ultimately come back to win the match. Spizzirri completely faltered, and it's a victory for Sinner, who attributes "luck" to turning around a match he had completely against him.

What the Australian Open 2026 heat rules state

It's understandable for some to think there was favoritism towards Sinner because it's not typical to interrupt a match when someone is down 1-3. Not during a break or at the end of a set. But to understand what happened here, you need to look at what the 2026 Australian Open heat rules say.

The organization has set rules indicating that matches in the tournament, both for men and women, will be stopped when level 5 is reached on their scale. The Australians have defined a scale ranging from levels 1 to 5, measuring four parameters:

1-Air temperature
2-Radiant heat
3-Humidity
4-Wind speed

If level 5 is reached, matches must always be paused after an even number of games or, in the case of a tiebreak, at the end of it. That's why Sinner's match was stopped at 1-3, reaching the fourth game - that is, an even number. For the same reason, matches on the other courts were stopped slightly later, as an even number of games had to be reached.

This scale is visible to everyone at the tournament. Journalists covering the event posted a photo of the screen displaying the scale at the moment it reached level 5. It was almost half past two in the afternoon, right in the middle of the match between Sinner and Spizzirri.

The Australian Open correctly applied the rules

The tournament followed its heat rule. It's just that. Some might think there was favoritism, but they didn't do anything outside the bounds of the law. You could talk about luck because it's true that Jannik was fortunate that the break came at such a crucial point for him, but just as it benefited him, it could have been the opposite. He could have been ahead, with his opponent stiff, and had that break.

From my perspective, I believe the tournament could have taken action beforehand and been proactive. We all knew today was going to be extremely hot. The roofs over the top three courts could have been closed on medical advice and after consulting with the players. This could have avoided the controversy and the risk to the players' health.

I don't know what this sport is waiting for to prevent players from competing at 40 degrees Celsius. There will have to be a tragedy for us to never see this again, but it's incredible we have to reach such extremes, leading to situations like what we witnessed today at the Australian Open.

In summary, rules are rules, and there was no favoritism toward anyone. One could only talk about tremendous luck on Sinner's part regarding the timing of the break when he was at his worst. Obviously, everyone will have their own opinion, but the situation is what it is, and no matter how you look at it, Sinner is in the round of 16, and there was nothing illegal about what happened this Saturday in Melbourne.