Tennis fans will have to wait until at least 2027 before they get to see Jannik Sinner back in action after the world number one shut his season down due to a knee injury.
Sinner has not featured on the ATP Tour since beating Alexander Zverev to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title in July. The Italian’s ongoing knee issue had forced him to withdraw from the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Open, the US Open, the China Open and the Shanghai Masters.
After pulling out of the Shanghai Masters, Sinner ultimately made the decision to call a halt to his season, which will result in him losing his position atop the ATP rankings.
Arthur Fils reacts to Jannik Sinner ending his 2026 season
Sinner’s troubles came just after his main rival, Carlos Alcaraz, returned to the tour following four months on the sidelines with his own injury issues. Alcaraz suffered a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in April and did not return until the US Open in late August.
Alcaraz and Sinner aren’t the only two big names to have dealt with injuries over the past year. World number 11 Arthur Fils has endured setbacks too, and he feels there is something ‘strange’ happening on the tour.
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“Tennis is a very demanding sport,” said Fils in an interview with Spazio Tennis. “We travel every week, we play every week in different conditions, different time zones, and it’s very, very intense. So yes, the schedule is very full, really very tough.
“As a result, a lot of injuries occur, obviously. And it’s strange in a way, because it’s always the younger players who get injured. Now we’re seeing it with Jannik, to whom I wish the best possible recovery, obviously, Carlos (Alcaraz), myself, Jack (Draper).
“A lot of young tennis players are getting injured, and it’s really hard to continue playing as many tournaments as Jannik has done and stay healthy.” Sinner pushed his body to the very outer limits this year, having gone on an incredible run in the ATP Masters 1000 series, winning five straight titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
Sinner won six titles in total this season, with five Masters crowns captured before winning Wimbledon. He tallied a win-loss record of 44-3, with the three defeats handed to him by Novak Djokovic, Jakub Mensik and Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
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