Jannik Sinner Has Tennis Racket Drama After Australian Open

ATP World No. 2 Jannik Sinner is fresh off a strong showing at the Australian Open. Sinner's quest for a three-peat was upended by a resurgent Novak Djokovic performance in the semifinals, but there is no doubting his level of play.

Unfortunately, being the second-best player in the sport comes with intense scrutiny. Tennis fans are calling out Sinner and his racket sponsor, Head, for using an older model during the 2026 Australian Open.

Sinner's Rackets in 2026

Jannik Sinner awaits a serve at the 2026 Australian Open. — Jannik Sinner at the 2026 Australian Open. | IMAGO / Schreyer

In December, Sinner headlined a splashy announcement for the Head Speed racket. According to the legendary sportswear brand, the Head Speed racquet is "the racquet of choice for the great Jannik Sinner. Power up your swing and play your best with our fastest racquet yet."

However, Sinner showed frustration with his racket while in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open. Sinner ended up playing the Grand Slam tournament with an older racket he is comfortable with using. Fans called out Head on Instagram, and the brand responded with a detailed response.

Head Responds to Complaints

Head's response to an Instagram comment. — Head responds to a tennis fan on Instagram. | @head_tennis

A fan on social media asked, "So why is Sinner still using a 2022 racket? It's also noticeable that he prefers shared grommets. Why exactly aren't clones of the racket Sinner uses being sold? (I'm not talking about weight or swing weight, of course.)"

Head responded, "Jannik has already played with the new racquet in training and in exhibition matches, but has not yet had the opportunity to use it in a tournament match. As the defending champion at the Australian Open, he deliberately sticked to his tried-and-tested match routine for maximum consistency. Let's see what the future holds."

When asked about the shared grommets, Head responded, "Grommet technologies have a huge impact on the sound and feel of tennis racquets. We constantly revise material formulations and grommet constructions to make our racquets either more crisp or more plush but always feeling more stable.

We didn't have the same engineering flexibilities with shared grommets as we have now with our new designs. All our new grommet constructions create such a nice feel that it's definitely worth updating."

Sinner will return to action at the Doha ATP 500 (Qatar ExxonMobil Open), scheduled for February 16-21. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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