Jannik Sinner’s decision to end his 2026 season early has had major consequences for several of the top players on the ATP Tour.
Alexander Zverev has been confirmed to become the world No 1 before the end of the season as a result, while Novak Djokovic now has a major shot at qualifying for the ATP Finals at the end of the year.
Sinner is set to miss the Shanghai Masters, the Six Kings Slam, the Vienna Open, the Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals, as well as the Davis Cup Finals at the end of the year.
Sinner not representing Italy is a major blow for the nation’s hopes of winning the tournament and Italian Tennis president Angelo Binaghi has reacted to the news.
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“Unfortunately, Sinner’s withdrawal was in the air, even though we hoped he would be in good health for the last few tournaments,” said Binaghi.
However, the Italian president is confident that Sinner’s injury is just a blip in his career and he expects him to play for a very long time.
“Nowadays, tennis is played until the age of 40, so Sinner, if he’s in good health, should give us another 10 years of great results,” explained Binaghi.
“I believe there’s room for improvement in a program that allows him to return to the top of the world without suffering any physical repercussions.
“I think it’s a coincidence that the two strongest players in the world had an injury that kept them out. But I think that on the one hand, Italian tennis can’t complain about what he and the other players have done this year, winning five Masters 1000s.
“And I also believe that, although it was a very unfortunate year because the four strongest players, both men and women, all had physical problems, the most important thing is to find all possible solutions to preserve their physical condition in the medium to long term.”
Sinner is only 25 years old, so there could be another 15 years of the Italian’s career if Binaghi’s prediction ends up being true.
That would give the Italian plenty of time to collect more Grand Slams and if he continues the way he left us, there is every chance he could challenge the totals of the ‘big three’.
Sinner currently holds five Grand Slam titles in his career, so he is 19 off the record set by Novak Djokovic.
The Italian would need to win 1-2 a year for 15 years in order to topple Djokovic’s total. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, its the longevity of the accomplishment that would be impressive.
