Sinner skips Shanghai: Zverev dreams of No. 1

Jannik Sinner will not play the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The announcement came today, Saturday, October 3, via Instagram:

"Unfortunately I won't be able to play at the Rolex Shanghai Masters this year as I had hoped."

The world No. 1 apologized to the Chinese public and put the date off until next year.

The right knee still isn't responding. Sinner hasn't played an official match since the Wimbledon final on July 12, won against Alexander Zverev 6-7(7-9), 7-6(7-2), 6-3, 6-4, his second consecutive title at the Championships and his fifth Slam. Since then he has withdrawn from Montreal, Cincinnati, the US Open and Beijing. On Friday he was examined at the Santy orthopedic center in Lyon. There is no official word on the nature of the injury: the Italian press reports iliotibial band syndrome, but neither the player nor his medical staff has confirmed it.

In the short term the withdrawal costs little. In Shanghai Sinner was defending 50 points, earned in 2025 before retiring with cramps in the third round against Tallon Griekspoor. He will drop to 10,950 points, and to overtake him Zverev will need to win both Beijing and Shanghai: in that case he would reach 11,040 and become world No. 1 on October 19.

The steeper bill comes later. Between Vienna, Paris and the Finals, Sinner has about 3,000 points expiring, 1,500 of them earned in Turin by closing out the tournament without losing a match. Until he returns, that cushion erodes on its own, one week at a time, with no defeat needed to shrink it.