There has been plenty of secrecy surrounding Jannik Sinner’s knee injury over the last few weeks, but it looks like the fog is about to lift as the world No 1 prepares to return to action.
Sinner missed the US Open with the injury that has been the subject of intense speculation in the media over the last few weeks, with some reports suggesting it could be a serious problem and other claiming it may only be an issue that keeps the five-time Grand Slam champion out for a brief period.
Now it seems the latter of those two options is set to be confirmed, as there is an expectation that Sinner will travel to China this weekend to prepare to play the ATP 1000 tournament in Beijing.
Sinner won the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing last year and it looks like the venue he has chosen to return to action for the first time since he lifted the Wimbledon title back in July.
He will face a strong cast list of rivals on his return to action, with recently crowned US Open champion Alexander Zverev, 24-time Grand Slam-winning great Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime among the entrants in a tournament that will be staged at the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center.
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Sinner’s big rival Carlos Alcaraz was questioned for opting to make his return from a long-term wrist problem at the US Open, with the prospect of playing best-of-five-set tennis appearing to be a risk for the Spaniard.
While that bold approach proved to be successful as Alcaraz turned in five excellent performances in New York and appears to be back to full fitness as he play in this weekend’s Laver Cup, Sinner is taking the more cautious approach by refusing to rush back to play at the US Open.
He will now look to finish his season on a high and he has a real battle to hang on to the world No 1 ranking after Zverev’s impressive season that included a win at the French Open as well as the US Open.
Jannik Sinner is currently sitting at the top of the rankings, but he has plenty of ranking points to defend in the next few weeks and Zverev has lots of scope to overtake him before the year reaches a conclusion.
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Despite winning more Grand Slam titles in 2026, Zverev has suggested Sinner is still the man to beat in men’s tennis as he prepares for an end-of-season battle for the world No 1 title.
“You have to take everything into consideration,” said Zverev after his US Open win. “With Jannik Sinner being injured and Carlos Alcaraz coming back from injury after four months, right now, probably yes. Both of them healthy and both of them at the top of their game, maybe not.
“But if we say right, right now, with Jannik being injured and Carlos coming back from injury, maybe. I mean, four, five months ago when both of them were healthy, I wasn’t.
“I was losing to Jannik all the time. So if everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”
