World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will not defend his China Open title due to a lingering knee injury, he announced Friday.
The 25-year-old Italian star still has not played a competitive match since his July 12 triumph against Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final.
Sinner is a two-time champion at the ATP 500 event in Beijing (2023, 2025) and lost in the final there in 2024.
“I want to send the warmest greetings to the Chinese fans,” Sinner said in a video posted on X. “I’m very sorry to announce that I won’t be able to play in Beijing this year. My knee is not where I would like it to be and I’m not ready to compete yet.
“I will do everything possible to be there on court as soon as I can. What I miss the most is, of course, the tournament, the fans and the atmosphere. I’ve had great times there in the past, winning the title also last year. I’m very disappointed that I cannot defend it this year.”
The China Open starts on Wednesday and runs through Oct. 6.
Sinner has a 44-3 match record in 2026, including his fifth career Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and ATP 1000 titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
–Field Level Media
