Jannik Sinner’s decision to end his season early could have huge consequences for Novak Djokovic

Alexander Zverev is set to become the world No 1 before the end of the season, with Sinner now unable to defend thousands of points at the remaining few events on the ATP Tour.

Elsewhere, several players, including the likes of Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz, will fancy their chances at the last two remaining Masters 1000 events and the ATP Finals.

However, it could be argued that Novak Djokovic could be the biggest benefactor of Sinner’s decision to finish his season early.

Djokovic will keep two tennis records after Sinner’s decision and he could also have a major chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals at the end of the year now.

Djokovic’s China Open triumph has put him ninth in the race for ATP Finals qualification, which would ordinarily put him one place away from qualifying.

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However, with Sinner now not competing at the ATP Finals, ninth place is enough to play the Turin event.

Djokovic has also been boosted by Daniil Medvedev’s default at the China Open, which stripped him of all his ranking points earned in Beijing.

The star will likely still have to perform well at the remaining tournaments on the ATP Tour calendar, but he has a definitive shot at qualification.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has also confirmed that he has every intention of playing the event this year, unlike in previous years.

“At the moment, I’m also not really qualified yet for the race, for Turin. I mean, this year I would like to play if I qualify,” said Djokovic, before confirming the tournaments he wants to play before 2026 is finished.

“I’m planning also to play Paris, Bercy. Shanghai, I still don’t know. I need to see how I feel here, and then I’ll decide.”

Djokovic has won the ATP Finals seven times, which is more than any other player, and this year, without Sinner, he would be an outside favourite to win the tournament.

He’s already proved he can beat an in-form Alexander Zverev at the China Open and Alcaraz is yet to show his true mastery since coming back from injury.

Djokovic has an excellent opportunity to end a fairly poor 2026, by his standards, with a flourish.

The jury is out on how he will be able to return to action at the Shanghai Masters after such an intensive run to the China Open title, however.

There will likely be just a couple of days for Djokovic to travel and return to action at the Masters tournament.