Jannik Sinner: The Corriere Stirs Up a Storm: “Anyone Who Speaks Out Will End Up Like Panichi”

The announcement that Jannik Sinner would withdraw from the U.S. Open inevitably sparked speculation and analysis about what has been happening to the Italian player in recent months; he played his last official match on July 12, 2026—the day of the Wimbledon final.

Since then, a mystery has surrounded the condition of the champion from Sesto Pusteria, sidelined by an unspecified knee injury that forced him to shuttle back and forth between Monte Carlo, Milan, and Turin, preventing him from training at his best and forcing him to skip first the two Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, and then his most important goal, the U.S. Open.

The silence of Sinner’s staff and the world No. 1 himself has fueled—and will continue to fuel—the spread of speculation and rumors, according to the Corriere della Sera: “Djokovic reportedly posted an X-ray of his knee on social media; Sinner isn’t providing any details, and anyone who speaks out ends up like Panichi (the athletic trainer fired by the Italian national team in 2025, ed.). In the coming weeks, as the veterans of an increasingly physically and mentally taxing tour battle it out in New York, speculation about injuries will run rampant, just as it did after Paris. It’s not a fun game.”

According to rumors reported by *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, the knee “is better but still wouldn’t allow him to maintain good balance on the court. A problem that has affected him to such an extent that it led him to make this decision.” Sky Sport also echoes these same rumors: “According to the information gathered, no particularly concerning clinical issues emerged during the checkups and treatments in Turin, but Jannik has been unable to train at high intensity since Wimbledon, failing to follow the planned programs; therefore, in the end, the decision was made to avoid any potential worsening of his condition.”

The goal now is to return in time for the tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai, scheduled for late September, to best prepare for the season finale leading up to the ATP Finals.