Sinner Ends 2026 Season Early as Knee Injury Puts World No. 1 Ranking at Risk
Jannik Sinner has ended his 2026 season early, confirming that a knee injury requires a course of treatment that will keep him off the court for the remainder of the year.
The world number one has not played since winning Wimbledon in July.
Announced on Instagram
Sinner delivered the news in a video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday.
"Me together with the doctors have decided that I need a course of treatment for my knee, which means that the 2026 season is officially over," he said.
He added that his priority was his long-term career, saying he would "do everything possible to return at 100 per cent" and thanking supporters for their patience.
The injury was sustained during his Wimbledon campaign in July, where he beat Alexander Zverev in the final to retain the title. It had already cost him the Cincinnati Open, the US Open and the China Open.
What He Misses
Ending the season now rules him out of a substantial run of events. He will miss the Shanghai Masters, which begins this week, along with the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup finals on home soil in Italy.
The ATP Finals absence is significant. Sinner is the two-time defending champion, having won in Turin in both 2024 and 2025 without dropping a set, and holds a 15-2 record at the season-ending event.
The Ranking Is Now Vulnerable
The withdrawal leaves his position at the top of the rankings under serious threat. Zverev trails him by 1,280 points and now becomes a strong favourite to finish the year as world number one, with Sinner unable to defend the substantial haul he accumulated across the closing months of last season.
It is a difficult end to a year that had been going well. Sinner won six titles across all three surfaces and compiled a 44-3 record before the injury took hold. He claimed five consecutive Masters 1000 titles between March and May, becoming the youngest man to complete the career Golden Masters.
His Wimbledon win was his fifth Grand Slam title. He reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and suffered a surprising second-round defeat at Roland Garros to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, a match in which he fell ill while leading by two sets and 5-1 in the third.
The 25-year-old is expected back for the start of the 2027 season. The Australian Open begins on 17 January, though an earlier appearance at one of the ATP 250 events in Brisbane, Hong Kong, Adelaide or Auckland cannot be ruled out as he tests his form after a layoff approaching six months.
The Shanghai Masters runs from 7 to 18 October, with Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev and Novak Djokovic leading the field and Valentin Vacherot defending the title.
