Jannik Sinner Revisits Training Session with Simona Halep in Dubai Last Year: “It Was Wonderful, Full of Emotions”
Jannik Sinner completed the Sunshine Double by defeating Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells and Jiri Lehecka in Miami.
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Simona Halep, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Quindici Zero, 4K JANNIK SINNER)
- Jannik Sinner won both the Indian Wells and Miami Open, completing the Sunshine Double.
- He trained with former WTA World No.1 Simona Halep in Dubai, finding the experience emotional and beneficial.
- Sinner aims to improve his performance in extreme heat as he prepares for the Monte Carlo Masters.
Although Jannik Sinner did not have satisfactory results at the start of the 2026 season, as he failed to reach the finals of the Australian Open and the Qatar Open. He lost in the former event to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, while in the latter, to Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals.
But on the American soil, Sinner emerged victorious in both the Indian Wells and the Miami Open, and this made him the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double. The Italian ace beat Daniil Medvedev to win his first title in the California desert, while at the Miami Open, he went past Jiri Lehecka.
Before starting his campaign for the 2026 season, Sinner was in Dubai for the off-season, during which he had a training session with former WTA World No.1 Simona Halep. The Romanian ace, who called time on her career in February 2025, previously worked with Sinner’s current coach Darren Cahill.
It was wonderful, full of emotions, because I haven’t seen her very often on the circuit. Talking to her helped me a lot to understand how to manage certain things. On court, she is wonderful, a great champion. It was a very nice moment.
Jannik Sinner told DigiSport
Sinner’s victory has made him the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to achieve the Sunshine Double feat. The 24-year-old will next be playing the Monte Carlo Masters, the main draw of which is set to start on April 5th.
Jannik Sinner on what he wanted to improve the most during the Sunshine Double events
Not once, but on several occasions, Jannik Sinner suffered due to extreme heat. He was on the cusp of losing his fourth-round match against Eliot Spizzirri at the Australian Open, but the implementation of the heat rule helped him cool down a bit.
The South Tyrol native was forced to hand the walkover to Tallon Griekspoor due to cramps in the third round of last year’s Shanghai Masters, which he was playing as the defending champion.
The World No.2 also struggled to compete during his fourth-round match against Holger Rune in last year’s Australian Open. After completing the Sunshine Double, Sinner, at the press conference, said one of his goals was to improve his ability to grind under the scorching sun.
The goal was to improve my game overall. We’ve had long days on the court and not many rest days, so we tried to take advantage of it to accumulate many minutes playing under the sun, playing in the heat. This was an area where I needed to improve. We did it. I knew how to endure. I tried to go through those situations every day, even if the results don’t come now, I think it’s something that will help me as the season progresses. That’s all, there’s no secret behind it, just hard work.
Sinner needs just a few more tournament wins to dethrone Carlos Alcaraz from the top of the rankings table. He did not have any points to defend in the two Masters 1000 events in the US, and he won’t have any to defend at the Monte Carlo Masters either.
The 22-year-old, on the other hand, will be playing as the defending champion in The Principality and has 4,300 points to defend on the clay swing. Sinner, apart from the Monte Carlo Masters, had also skipped the Madrid Open last year and played the finals of the Italian Open and the French Open, exiting both events after losing to the seven-time Grand Slam champion in the title clashes.
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