Wimbledon 2026: Jannik Sinner overcomes bloody foot to narrowly avoid massive upset in first round

Jannik Sinner entered Wimbledon looking to etch his name among the game's elites. With another win at the event, Sinner would join rarified air, becoming just the 10th man to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles.

He left his first-round match battered and bloodied, but he left it a winner. Sinner needed five sets to dispatch Miomir Kecmanović in the first round at Wimbledon on Monday. Despite a foot injury, Sinner was able to recover in the final two sets, winning the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-3.

Sinner's serve proved to be both his greatest asset and enemy early in the match. While he was able to rack up aces, he also struggled to put his serve in play, with double faults marring the first set. Those double faults led to few unforced errors from Sinner late in the set, resulting in the world No. 1 falling behind and losing the set.

Sinner would go on to rack up an astounding 31 aces in the match. He finished the day with five double faults, all of which came early in the match.

Sinner seemed to put those issues behind him early in the second set, winning the first three games. Though Kecmanović showed some life, Sinner took the second set 6-3, evening up the match.

But the third set proved to be a challenging one for last year's winner. After an awkward fall, Sinner wasn't moving as well during the set. While he never called for a trainer, the broadcast captured blood seeping out of Sinner's right foot.

The injury allowed Kecmanović to take a lead in the set. Sinner eventually forced a tiebreak, but lost it, dropping the third set 7-6. The defending champion was now a set away from being eliminated from Wimbledon in the first round.

Whatever was going on with Sinner's foot, he managed to shake it off by the fourth set, an easy 6-2 win from Sinner. That set up a fifth and final set between Sinner and Kecmanović.

Prior to Monday, Sinner didn't have a great record in matches that went five sets. He was just 6-12, though many of his losses came against elite opponents.

Still, that may have been on his mind early in the final set. Sinner couldn't manage to jump out to a big lead over Kecmanović, with the two trading the first four games.

Sinner found his stride, ending that streak to take the fifth and sixth game of the set. It gave him a sudden 4-2 lead in the fifth set, putting him in strong position to close out the match.

After trading the next two games, Sinner managed to get it done, winning the set and the match. While it was scary at times, Sinner survived a tense first-round.

After the match, Sinner said the injury looked worse than it felt. He added that it was "just a nail" and that he's doing "good," suggesting he doesn't foresee the injury being an issue moving forward.

With Kecmanović dispatched, Sinner will now focus on fixing his foot ahead of his second match at Wimbledon, which will take place Wednesday, when he'll take on Nuno Borges.

While Sinner won Wimbledon last year, he comes into the event this time around on a sour note. Sinner was eliminated in the second round of the French Open in a major upset. It marked the first time since the 2023 French Open that Sinner failed to advance past the second round at a Grand Slam.

He'll hope to avoid a repeat of that vs. Borges on Wednesday.