Jannik Sinner remains sidelined due to a knee injury, and a former Italian tennis player has expressed concern that the issue is “chronic or structural.”
The world No 1’s last match was his four-set triumph against Alexander Zverev in the championship match at Wimbledon on 12 July.
Sinner confirmed on Saturday that he will not return to compete at the Shanghai Masters, which will begin on Wednesday 7 October.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has already missed the Canadian Open, the Cincinnati Open, the US Open and the China Open due to a right knee problem.
Diego Nargiso, a former ATP player who is now a coach and commentator, was asked if he is worried about Sinner’s injury in an interview with Italian website Tuttosport,
“The concern is legitimate. I’m convinced that Jannik has chosen to address the issue once and for all,” said Nargiso.
“An issue like this rarely arises suddenly: I believe it was already there, managed with care, physiotherapy, and muscle strengthening, until at a certain point it was no longer possible to keep under control.
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“If we’re still here after two and a half months, it means there’s something more: either it’s chronic or structural.
“Inflammation can arise from overload, but overload always has a cause, an imbalance between bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.
“If one element doesn’t work as it should, another pays the price: the tendon, the ligament, and in the worst cases, the bone, with edema or stress fractures.”
Asked whether Sinner’s 2026 season could be over, Nargiso replied: “I wouldn’t go that far.
“Jannik was healthy until five or six months ago and played every week, perhaps with some discomfort.
“He doesn’t have a joint compromised by surgery or a previous injury. I believe that, once a solution is found, even significant inflammation can go away within three or four weeks, if accompanied by the right mix of rest, therapy, and retraining.
“I don’t believe he’ll have a chronic problem for the rest of his career. Also because, if it were a malformation, like Nadal’s foot, it would be a much more serious situation, and I’ve never heard of anything similar with his knee.”
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