Italy can’t do without Sinner

He takes up position on the left-hand side of the All England Club’s Centre Court, leading 40-30. He serves wide, then hits a cross-court forehand before unleashing a decisive shot into the opposite corner, before collapsing to the ground in joy at having won his fifth Grand Slam, his second Wimbledon in a row. So similar to the finale of his first Grand Slam, the one in Australia. These are the final images Jannik Sinner has left on the circuit. Frames enhanced by the voice of Elena Pero in what will be her last, epic, commentary. Perhaps this is also why, when the world number one announced a few days ago that his tennis season had come to an end there – and that we’ll have to wait for the Australian heat to see him again, now that we’ve only just left summer behind us – many reacted with the usual defeatism: “There’s something they’re not telling us.” “That hint of a farewell, a future hanging in the balance: a precedent speaks volumes” (to quote an actual newspaper article). “I knew it; it’s all down to that fall at Wimbledon.”

And to think that end-of-year controversies are something of a recurring theme for Sinner: at least this year, we’ve been spared the debate over whether or not he should take part in the Davis Cup. And yet everything else – the backdrop to a season finale without our most famous sportsman in the world – always leaves that sense of uncertainty. This is further compounded by his withdrawal from the Finals in Turin. So much so that those who had splashed out on tickets costing thousands of euros and situated just a few hundred metres from the court have already put them up for resale, because ‘if Jannik isn’t there, we’re not really interested’. Perhaps every cloud has a silver lining: this may prove to be an opportunity for tennis fans to attend a tournament in which Flavio Cobolli is almost certain to feature – he certainly deserves the spotlight and the stage.

Immediately after London, Sinner had announced that he would not be taking part in the Montreal Masters 1000: yet another blasphemy for those who had already decided that “we don’t care about the Grand Slams this year. We want all nine Masters 1000 tournaments’. But then he had to pull out of Cincinnati as well, followed by the US Open. Finally, he had to miss the Asian leg and the entire end of the season. This illustrates the rashness with which decisions requiring medical advice, in-depth reflection within the team, and the ability to remain analytical – where the emotional eagerness of someone itching to return to the court might otherwise prevail – are all too often judged. It is as though some people have completely forgotten the first six months of the tennis player from Sesto Pusteria’s season: five Masters 1000 titles won in a row (six, including the last one from last season). A run of 30 consecutive matches from Indian Wells to Paris. Then, of course, in addition to bringing the Internazionali title back to Italy after fifty years, he had to cope with the disappointment of his injury at Roland Garros, which saw him exit in the second round. But he bounced back straight away with another victory on the grass courts of England. Not everyone can pull off a repeat performance.

During Carlos Alcaraz’s months-long absence from the circuit, Sinner went it alone for as long as he could. And he won at least three of those five 1000-level tournaments whilst the Spaniard was still in the draw. Their most recent encounter took place in the Monte Carlo final—a regal setting—the only one this year. This fact alone underscores the extent to which injuries have plagued the past twelve months. Meanwhile, upon his return, Alcaraz—without Sinner—had to wait for a ‘minor’ tournament like Tokyo to secure a trophy after more than eight months. Do you remember how it went last year? A break from March to May, Sinner’s return at the Italian Open. The final. Roland Garros? The final – one of the finest in history – lost despite holding three match points against Alcaraz, who was then defeated two weeks later at Wimbledon. In short, on closer inspection, Sinner has not taken to the court for something like ten months out of the last twenty-two (in December, professional tennis tournaments are on hold). And although he hasn’t played since 12 July, he will remain world number one at least until the end of October – 95 weeks at the top. “Not too bad,” as Ubaldo Scanagatta would say.

What’s more, whilst we used to all be national team managers, now, thanks to Sinner, we’ve all become experts in ‘iliotibial band syndrome’, an ‘extra-articular tendinopathy’. An ‘overuse’ injury. And so everyone’s going on about the need to look after oneself better, to play less in the early part of the season. "What on earth was he doing in Madrid?", as if that single tournament were to blame for how things subsequently turned out. And then, once again, everyone is insisting that "transparency is needed", as if Sinner were a state-owned company, like Eni, Enel or Fincantieri. And woe betide anyone who hides internal troubles and problems from the shareholders. Nonetheless, the fact that he is an asset to Italian sport goes without saying. However, the president of the Italian Tennis Federation, Angelo Binaghi, was quite right to say: “Enough of this nonsense about Sinner. The priority is his health: he made the right choice.” After all, the South Tyrolean has long accustomed us to decisions aimed at prolonging his career. He pulled out of the Davis Cup after a gruelling end to last season (we saw what sort of start to 2026 he went on to have), skipped the Paris Olympics and immediately returned to winning ways at the US Open. Knowing his habits, a bit of rest won’t do him too much harm. As Paolo Bertolucci remarked at the end of that moving final against Zverev, standing alongside Elena Pero: “This lad’s career certainly isn’t ending today. He’ll carry on winning, lifting trophies and giving us hundreds and hundreds of wonderful days like this one.” So much for “who knows if you’ll ever play tennis again”.