Jannik Sinner aiming to amp up his baseline aggression ahead of Indian Wells

By SABC Sport
4th March 2026

Jannik Sinner is set to begin his campaign at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, the BNP Paribas Open, aiming to claim his first title at the Californian tournament.

The 22-year-old Italian, currently world No. 2 in the ATP Live Rankings, trails world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz by around 2,800 points and is chasing a sixth Masters 1000 crown.

Sinner has twice reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells but has yet to lift the trophy. The event kicks off the Sunshine Double, marking the first Masters 1000 stop of the season, and follows a modest start to Sinner's 2026 campaign.

He reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, losing a five-set thriller to Novak Djokovic, and exited in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open to Jakub Mensik, the reigning Miami Open champion.

Speaking at a pre-tournament press conference, Sinner stressed that development remains a key focus, highlighting a demanding training block in California and small tactical adjustments made with his team during preparation week.

He also underlined the importance of maintaining momentum through a busy season.

"I think we are always trying to progress with our games," said Sinner.

"I feel like we are doing a great job. It has been a very hard practice week here for me. We spent many, many hours of practice.

"[I am] very happy with how I'm feeling on the court, and obviously we try to go as far as possible in the tournament.

"In the same time, we also try to improve a couple of things. I'm trying to be slightly more aggressive at times on the baseline, and then we see how it goes."

Sinner will commence his Indian Wells run in the second round against either James Duckworth or a qualifier, with hopes of building on his early-season form and closing the gap on Alcaraz.