Jannik Sinner ends his 2026 season due to a lingering right knee injury.
Richard PagliaroOctober 6, 20263 minute read
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.”
The 25-year-old Italian ends an injury-plagued season that saw him reach great heights on court.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Sinner dominated spring Masters 1000 events capturing Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome in succession.
Now, Sinner hopes extended treatment of his right knee issue will help him prepare for the start of the 2027 season. Sinner won the 2024 and 2025 Australian Open titles before bowing to Novak Djokovic at the Melbourne major in January. Carlos Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the AO final becoming the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
“On the advice of his medical team, Jannik Sinner will follow a course of treatment for inflammation in his knee,” Sinner’s team said in a statement. “The decision has been made to have the treatment now to give Jannik the necessary time to recover before beginning preparations for 2027.
“As a result, Jannik will be unable to compete again during the 2026 season.”
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.”
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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.
