By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Jannik Sinner has closed the curtain on his 2026 season.
World No. 1 Sinner announced today he’s ended his season to continue treatment on his cranky right knee injury.
“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,” Sinner said in an Instagram post today. “The last couple of years, especially the ending in Turin, gave me so many beautiful feelings and emotions, which this year is going to be way different.
“But at the moment, I also need to think about my long-term career. I will do everything possible to get back 100 percent. I thank you already in advance for your support and hope to see you very, very soon again on court.”
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.”
Two-time Wimbledon winner Sinner has not played a match since he defeated Alexander Zverev in four sets to successfully defend Wimbledon last July.
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.
Sinner, who has posted a 44-3 record with six tournament titles in 2026, will almost certainly lose the No. 1 ranking to world No. 2 Alexander Zverev. Sinner will be unable to defend 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), opening the door for reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion Zverev to secure the top spot for the first time.
hope he recover quickly.
Tennis without sinner is incomplete.