Jannik Sinner Sets Date for His Return to the Court After Injury
Complete rest. This is the strategy Jannik Sinner has chosen to recover from the knee injury that forced him to withdraw first from the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters 1000 tournaments and then from the U.S. Open, the season’s final Grand Slam scheduled for Flushing Meadows. The South Tyrolean continues to undergo checkups at J Medical in Turin, but he hasn’t picked up a racket in recent days and won’t do so for the entire week. The break could also extend until September 6, according to reports in *La Gazzetta dello Sport*. It’s a cautious approach that Sinner has taken in the past. Taking a complete break when his body requires it has become one of the principles followed by the world No. 1, especially after what happened at Roland Garros, when a sudden illness during his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo forced him to withdraw from the tournament.
In the meantime, Sinner is undergoing physical therapy sessions at J Medical, a facility he has visited several times in the past for checkups and evaluations. The goal is to recover without rushing the process and to be in the best possible condition when he returns to the court. His return to official competition, as announced by his team, is expected to take place at the ATP 500 in Beijing, scheduled for September 30 through October 6. Sinner will arrive in China as the defending champion, having won last year’s tournament by defeating Learner Tien in the final.
However, his absence from the U.S. Open will also have consequences for his ranking. Unable to defend the points he earned, Sinner risks losing ground in the Race. If Alexander Zverev wins in New York, he could in fact overtake Sinner in the season standings and put pressure on his position at the top of the ATP rankings. For Sinner, however, the priority right now is different.
His recovery is still underway, and the watchword remains caution. It’s better to skip a tournament than to return to the court without being 100% certain he’s ready. This philosophy is similar to that followed by Carlos Alcaraz, who is set to return at the US Open after a four-month hiatus. More concerning than the coaching staff’s decisions, however, is the silence surrounding Sinner’s situation. His absence from the tournament in New York confirmed that the knee injury is taking longer to heal than expected, but for days there have been no new official statements or updates on social media.
