Jannik Sinner’s Injury Highlights ‘Strange’ Trend on Tennis Tour

Jannik Sinner will not be competing in the remaining events because he has already ended his season due to a knee injury. Sinner pushed his body a lot at the start of the season as he competed in five back-to-back Masters 1000s, winning all.

After completing the rare Sunshine Double, the Italian ace took home the Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, as well as the Italian Open. His win in his home event made him only the second man in history to reach the Career Golden Masters milestone after Novak Djokovic.

When such a high level of performance was needed the most, he struggled. At the French Open, he collapsed physically during his second-round match, losing to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in five sets.

Although he was successful in defending his Wimbledon title with a four-set win over Alexander Zverev, it came to light that he was dealing with a knee injury, which eventually not only forced him to skip the Cincinnati Masters, US Open, and the China Open, but also ended his 2026 season early.

Reacting to his injury, Arthur Fils, who himself has pulled out of a few events this season due to injury woes, said something strange is going on on the men’s tour.

Tennis is a very demanding sport. 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.

Arthur Fils said during his interview with Spazio Tennis

Carlos Alcaraz injured his wrist during the Barcelona Open, and it forced him to skip both the French Open and Wimbledon. He returned to action at the US Open, reached the quarterfinals, and lost to eventual runner-up Ben Shelton. The 23-year-old recently clinched the Japan Open and, at present, is competing in Shanghai.

Now we’re seeing it with Jannik, to whom I wish the best possible recovery, obviously, Carlos, 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.

Arthur Fils added

Sinner is set to be dethroned from the top of the rankings table by Alexander Zverev, the winner of this year’s French Open and the US Open. The 25-year-old reached the top after removing Alcaraz following his Monte Carlo win.

Nicolas Mahut on Alexander Zverev’s success during Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s injury problems

Because Alexander Zverev did not face either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner en route to his two Grand Slam wins, many believe he wouldn’t have won the two titles had both the World No.1 and the World No.3 not dealt with physical setbacks. And as mentioned, Zverev is set to become the newest No.1 because Sinner has ended his season.

Nicolas Mahut believes Zverev must beat Alcaraz to justify being the World No.1 player. During his interview with Eurosport France, Mahut said:

You always have the ranking you deserve, but in head-to-head matchups against Alcaraz, Sinner, or Djokovic, he came up short. We’d like to see him beat Carlos in the final of a Masters or major tournament to legitimize his number one spot.

Zverev trails 4-11 in the head-to-head matchups with Sinner and has lost 10 consecutive matches to him. Against Alcaraz, the German trails 6-7, while against Djokovic, he is 5-10. Zverev recently lost to the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the quarterfinals of the China Open, which the Serb won later after receiving a walkover from Alex de Minaur.

Also read: Iga Swiatek Rates Her Chances of Qualifying for WTA Finals After China Open Upset