Jannik Sinner won’t play another match this season.
After withdrawing from the Shanghai Masters, Sinner ended his season early due to injury. The world number one hasn’t played a match since winning the Wimbledon final in July.
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American WTA stars, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, have now shared their thoughts on Sinner’s announcement and suggested whether they were surprised to see the Italian pick up such a serious injury.
Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys weren’t surprised to see Jannik Sinner suffer season-ending injury
“I feel like the way that he moves is not normal, so I don’t really think it’s that shocking that he possibly has a little something going on,” said Pegula during the latest episode of ‘The Player’s Box Podcast’.
“He moves in a way that I feel is not possible; my body would never do it because I would break. So it’s not totally surprising. The way that he can run into corners or slide into corners and stop and then cut, I am like, I would still be running into the stands. Jannik [Sinner] somehow is fully stopped and already running towards the next ball,” added Keys.
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Pegula continued, comparing Sinner to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, and made a comment about the ‘reality’ of tennis, which is sometimes overlooked.
“He literally looks like he is skiing. I don’t think anybody has moved [like that]. I guess Novak [Djokovic] is probably the closest, but Jannik looks like he is skiing on a tennis court. Hopefully he gets better. I felt for a couple of years there that he was unstoppable,” said Pegula.
“I feel sometimes we think that nobody is ever going to beat him, and then something like this happens, and you come back to the reality that it’s really hard to stay healthy, especially at their level.”
Sinner is the current world number one, but will hand that title to Alexander Zverev before the end of the year. The Italian won one Grand Slam title this season, one fewer than he won in 2024 and 2025.
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Still, even with an unfinished season, Sinner enjoyed great success in 2026. He may not have won the major titles he had hoped to, but he can still be pleased with his efforts on the ATP Tour.
Jannik Sinner’s season in review
Sinner won six of the nine tournaments he played this year. After losing in the Australian Open semi-finals and the Qatar Open quarter-finals, Sinner won five consecutive Masters 1000 titles, setting an ATP Tour record.
He then suffered arguably the worst defeat of his career at Roland Garros. Cruising to victory against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round, Sinner’s body failed him, and he lost in five sets, missing a golden opportunity to complete his Career Grand Slam.
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The good news for Sinner is that he soon bounced back at SW19. He won his second consecutive Wimbledon title, improving his major tally to five, moving to within two of his closest rival, Carlos Alcaraz.
Jannik Sinner’s 2026 record (44-3)
|
Tournament |
Performance |
Match wins |
Defeat |
|
Australian Open |
Semi-final |
5 (Hugo Gaston, James Duckworth, Eliot Spizzirri, Luciano Darderi, Ben Shelton) |
Novak Djokovic |
|
Qatar Open |
Quarter-final |
2 (Tomas Machac, Alexei Popyrin) |
Jakub Mensik |
|
Indian Wells |
Champion |
6 (Dalibor Svrcina, Denis Shapovalov, Joao Fonseca, Learner Tien, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev) |
– |
|
Miami Open |
Champion |
6 (Damir Dzumhur, Corentin Moutet, Alex Michelsen, Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev, Jiri Lehecka) |
– |
|
Monte Carlo Masters |
Champion |
5 (Ugo Humbert, Tomas Machac, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz) |
– |
|
Madrid Open |
Champion |
6 (Benjamin Bonzi, Elmer Moller, Cameron Norrie, Rafael Jodar, Arthur Fils, Alexander Zverev) |
– |
|
Italian Open |
Champion |
6 (Sebastian Ofner, Alexei Popyrin, Andrea Pellegrino, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud) |
– |
|
French Open |
Second round |
1 (Clement Tabur) |
Juan Manuel Cerundolo |
|
Wimbledon |
Champion |
7 (Miomir Kecmanovic, Nuno Borges, Jenson Brooksby, Shintaro Mochizuki, Jan-Lennard Struff, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev) |
– |
Jannik Sinner’s 2026 results
Sinner sits second in the ‘Live ATP Race’, and unless he reverses his decision and plays again this season, he will finish 2026 ranked behind Zverev. Only time will tell how big the gap will be by the time he returns to action.
Live ATP Race
-
1. Alexander Zverev – 8,950 points
-
2. Jannik Sinner – 7,950 points
-
3. Carlos Alcaraz – 4,600 points
-
4. Ben Shelton – 4,480 points
-
5. Flavio Cobolli – 3,540 points
The likelihood is that Sinner will play his next event in Melbourne, at the Australian Open. The 2027 Australian Open begins on January 11.
