By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, October 3, 2026
Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/ROLEX
Jannik Sinner has ended his Asian swing without striking a shot.
World No. 1 Sinner officially withdrew from the Rolex Shanghai Masters today due to the right knee injury that has sidelined him since he defeated Alexander Zverev to successfully defend Wimbledon in July.
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the Rolex Shanghai Masters this year as I hoped,” Sinner said in a statement posted to Instagram. “I always enjoy playing in front of the crowd in Shanghai and I’m really sorry that I can’t do it this time. I look forward to seeing you again next year.”
The 2024 Shanghai champion Sinner has not set a timetable for his possible return as he continues to rest and rehab his right knee issue.
Journalist Gabriele Parpiglia reports Sinner is suffering from Iliotibial Band Syndrome above his right knee, a condition common in distance runners, Johns Hopkins reports.
“The trouble arises right above [Sinner’s] knee. There the band passes over a protrusion of the femur, the lateral epicondyle,” Corriere dello Sport reports. “Every time the knee bends and stretches, it slides over it, until the tissues between the fascia and the bone become inflamed. And that’s why we talk about “extra-articular”: the damage is not inside the knee. [It] is out[side]. On the external side.”
Sinner, who served a three-month suspension in spring of 2025 to settle WADA’s appeal of his positive test for the banned substance clostebol, is currently coping with his longest absence from the Tour in his career.
If Sinner, who has posted a 44-3 record with six tournament titles in 2026, is forced out of both Shanghai and the Rolex Paris Masters it opens the door for world No. 2 Alexander Zverev to surpass the Italian for the top spot in the rankings.
Sinner is defending 3,000 ranking points over the rest of the fall season as defending champion in Vienna (500 points), Paris (1,000 points) and the ATP Finals in Turin (1,500 points).
If Zverev defeats China’s Jerry Shang today, he will face Novak Djokovic in the Beijing quarterfinals. Six-time Beijing champion Djokovic, playing the event for the first time in 11 years, is 31-0 lifetime in Beijing.
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