Roger Federer’s Ex-coach Slams Cincinnati Masters for Making Players Play in Scorching Heat After Arthur Rinderknech Fainted on Court

Aryna Sabalenka took an ice bath, while Daniil Medvedev put his head in a fridge to deal with the Cincinnati heat.

Roger Federer’s Ex-coach Slams Cincinnati Masters for Making Players Play in Scorching Heat After Arthur Rinderknech Fainted on Court

Arthur Rinderknech fainted during his match in Cincinnati (Image via X/We Are Tennis, Univers Tennis)

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Arthur Rinderknech, during his third-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati, collapsed on the court due to heat. Aliassime won the first set 7-6(4) and took a 4-2 lead in the second, but his opponent couldn’t continue the match and handed him the walkover.

Several players have complained of the heat, including women’s World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who, after playing for more than three hours against Emma Raducanu in the third round, immediately took an ice bath and joked she could stay in the bath for an hour. Daniil Medvedev, during his opening-round match against Adam Walton, put his head inside a fridge to cool himself.

Following the Rinderknech incident, Roger Federer‘s former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, criticized the tournament for making the players compete in the extreme heat. He also doesn’t think fitness is a factor when it comes to playing in extreme conditions. Ljubicic wrote on X:

Nobody wins when players are fainting because of extreme conditions… Which other sport does this ? … players are asked to go out day after day to complete in such conditions… Has nothing to do with being fit.

Check out the tweet here:

After heat, lightning, and rain played spoilsports. Night matches on August 12 were rescheduled, including Alexander Zverev‘s third-round clash with Brandon Nakashima. The third seed was just one game away from securing a spot in the fourth round.

Jannik Sinner on playing in sweltering conditions

Before the 2025 season, Jannik Sinner headed to Dubai for his pre-season training. He believes this has helped him to deal with the heat when playing in sweltering conditions. Following his second-round win over Daniel Elahi Galan, the World No.1 said mentality is also the key to playing in such conditions.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/GamebredSports)

We just made the pre-season last year. We waited for it in Dubai, for example, because it’s much warmer than in Monaco or France on these kinds of places. So that for me was very important. I felt like that it was a good choice and we are aiming maybe to do it again there or in Doha. We have to see.

Sinner is the defending champion in Cincinnati. Last year, he beat Frances Tiafoe. After knocking out Galan (his fastest win this season), the 23-year-old was on the verge of losing the second set against Gabriel Diallo, but he eventually booked a spot in the fourth round with a straight-set win.

And that’s it because when it’s too hot for example to practice it’s also not perfect for the body you know; it depends also how much you want to aim for so but you know I always say that mentally you have to be ready because it’s it’s very very tough to play at times it’s very hot and humid so yeah you just have to accept it it’s it’s for both players and yeah.

Jannik Sinner added

He will next lock horns with Adrian Mannarino, against whom he holds a 3-0 head-to-head lead. The Frenchman, also a qualifier, eliminated home favorite Tommy Paul to set up the clash with the first seed. Sinner is bidding to win a Masters 1000 tournament for the second consecutive time. If he wins, he will become the first man after Roger Federer (2014 and 2015) to defend the Cincinnati title.

Sinner has so far reached four finals and is chasing his third title of the season after victories at the Australian Open by beating Alexander Zverev and at Wimbledon by beating Carlos Alcaraz. In Melbourne, the four-time Grand Slam champion struggled due to the heat during his fourth-round match against Holger Rune and also took an 11-minute medical time-out.

Also read: Darren Cahill Opens Up About Jannik Sinner’s Relentless Desire to “Show Up in Big Tournaments”