Jannik Sinner has confirmed he will not play the China Open due to the knee injury that has plagued him since his Wimbledon title victory.

The star has now missed the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Open, the US Open, and the China Open due to the injury, with his next likely tournament looking to be the Shnaghai Masters.

Taking to social media to share a video, the Italian said: “My knee is not there where I would like it to be. I will be doing everything to be on court as soon as I can.

“What I’ll miss the most is of course the atmosphere and the fans, I’ve had a great time in the past. I’ll see you all very soon on court again.”

More Jannik Sinner news

As a result of his latest withdrawal, Sinner will once again see a hit to his ranking points.

The world No 1 won the China Open last year, which means he will lose the full 500 points.

Sinner has gone from 11,500 ranking points to 11,000 and the gap between Alexander Zverev and him is just 1370 points.

The ATP Tour top 2 as it stands

- Jannik Sinner – 11,000

- Alexander Zverev – 9630

That means if Zverev wins the tournament at the China Open, which he will be expected to as the top seed, there will be less than 900 points between them heading into the Shanghai Masters.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz were beaten in the third round of the Shanghai Masters last year, so they will have an added opportunity to collect a good amount of ranking points.

Nevertheless, the door has been more than left open by Sinner when it comes to the race for world No 1. The question now is, will Zverev be able to take it?

Both men are expected to play the Shanghai Masters and the Paris Masters before the ATP Finals this year.

Sinner and Zverev have also signed up for an ATP 500 tournament at the Vienna Open, which takes place between 24th October and the 1st November.

The pair reached the final of last year’s tournament, which was won by Sinner in straight sets.

Whatever happens before the end of the year, it is set to be a very intriguing race between Zverev and Sinner. What is most important, however, is Sinner returning to the ATP Tour fit and healthy.

With Alcaraz now back in the fold, tennis desperately needs its best players firing on all cylinders before the end of the season.

That has happened far too rarely in 2026 and tennis has been all the more disappointing for it.