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tennis •
Jannik Sinner announces that his 2026 is over. The luxury of calm
The South Tyrolean champion has not played since the Wimbledon final. “My doctors and I have decided that I need a course of treatment for my knee,” he said in a video posted on his social media channels. By early November, he may no longer be world number one.
Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon (photo: Ansa)
2026 was not a great year for what is arguably the clash of the century in modern tennis. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner faced each other just once, on 12 April in Monte Carlo: 7-6, 6-3 to the Italian. That was it. First the Spaniard’s injuries, then those of the world number one, kept them apart, turning the six finals of 2025 into an increasingly hazy memory and shattering the belief that all roads in world tennis led to these two. The ATP Finals could have been the perfect setting to see them face each other again. It will not be to be. Jannik Sinner has announced that his 2026 season is already over: “My doctors and I have decided that I need a course of treatment for my knee.” His last match of the season remains his Wimbledon final victory over Alexander Zverev, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, on 12 July. Since then, there have been nothing but postponements, silence and apprehension.
His absence from tournaments will see him lose his number one ranking: Alexander Zverev is 1,280 points behind the Italian, and he could be overtaken at the Vienna Open (the final is on 1 November).
Never mind, Jannik Sinner will be able to reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings. But he needs to be able to play.
Exactly what is wrong with the South Tyrolean champion’s knee remains unknown. Or rather, it has been reported that Jannik Sinner is suffering from extra-articular tendon inflammation, but the extent and cause are unknown. No further details have been provided, and rightly so.
Jannik Sinner has chosen to follow in Carlos Alcaraz’s footsteps: the path of calm and detachment. The path of waiting for a full recovery, without rushing, without tormenting himself in a frantic pursuit of a hastily cobbled-together return to form. They can afford it; he can afford it. The gap between him and the others is huge for now – so huge that it affords him the luxury of calm.
Very few can afford it, not just in tennis. One champion, however, does have this opportunity, and Jannik Sinner – and before him, Carlos Alcaraz – were right to take it.