"The schedule in which Roland Garros has placed Sinner raises suspicions"

Jose Morón | 28 May 2026 | 10.21

The schedule in which Roland Garros has placed Sinner raises suspicions. Photo: Getty

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“They have sought to benefit Jannik Sinner,” is something that has been heard a lot in recent days from Roland Garros in a first week where every day, until Saturday, the French capital is being hit by a heatwave with temperatures exceeding 30ºC. After the organization of the Parisian tournament scheduled him for the first match today, complaints have escalated even further.

Almost all the tennis players are going through the daytime matches in these early rounds, suffering the effects of the high heat in Paris and the prevailing humidity, resulting in scenes like the ones we are witnessing, with players experiencing heat strokes, very noticeable cramps, collapses, and withdrawals. Those who are not fond of Sinner and knowing how much the Italian suffers in the heat were asking for Jannik to also be placed in the daytime match to see how he copes with that temperature.

Having played in the nighttime session on his first day, everyone was eager to see in which session the world number 1 would play this Thursday. Seeing the order of play, some have raised their voices against it, like the members of the Tennis Weekly Podcast, who claim that this move is only a gesture from the Roland Garros organization to protect the San Candido player.

Are they protecting Sinner from the heat?

“In the last 25 years, the world number 1 has never kicked off a day at Philippe Chatrier,” they report on the Podcast. “From the last 55 slots, only two times has a man opened the day at Chatrier. That's why having put Sinner in this slot raises suspicions. This can only be due to a request from the player or a gesture from the tournament to protect him now that Alcaraz is not around,” they argue.

In this podcast, they say that in the last 25 years, the world number 1 has never been placed in the first slot at Chatrier, and that out of the last 55 first slots, only 2 were male.

This refers to the fact that Sinner is opening in Chatrier at 12 today.

🗣️ “This raises... https://t.co/H2R98KQGBG
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) May 28, 2026

With this fact, one confirms that there are people who only try to find anything to attack the world number 1. I understand that in this current world, where only the negative sells, attacks and controversies, and the good things have little relevance, one seeks to reach a larger audience with these kinds of things, but it is such a weak argument that barely stands on any side.

If they had wanted to protect Sinner, the logical and normal thing would have been to schedule him for the nighttime session. The upper part of the men's draw is becoming very light in terms of seeded players, and it would have been normal to place Sinner in the nighttime session, as his match, along with the Rinderknech vs. Berrettini match, was the most attractive, which has ultimately been placed here.

Why would they put Jannik in the daytime if they wanted to protect him, even in the first slot? If his match is going to last 2-3 hours, Jannik will play at the worst time, starting from three in the afternoon. Yes, it is understandable that the first slot is better than the second or third, but the argument of protecting him falls apart when there is a much better option where the world number 1 won't play this Thursday.

And we return to the same old debate. Not all players receive the same treatment from tournament organizations. This is logical and normal. It has happened throughout history and will continue to happen. The big stars that attract the most audience and fans naturally receive preferential treatment regarding schedules.

However, they do not always get what they ask for. As we have known on other occasions, sometimes tournaments do not listen to players' requests and their teams and cannot give them what they want, so it falls within the norms of a world like this, which is nothing more than a spectacle. There is no judge here trying to measure the fairness that some receive over others, and this is a debate as old as it is useless.

We will see how Sinner fares in his first daytime session in Paris. If he wins and has to play this Saturday, it seems he will still do so under the heatwave, as on Saturday, temperatures are still forecast to exceed 30 degrees, but considering the draw in that part, it would be logical to place him in the nighttime session again, triggering the same topic once more.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "El horario en el que Roland Garros ha puesto a Sinner levanta sospechas"