World number one will undergo treatment and is not expected to return until 2027.Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner has ruled himself out of the rest of the 2026 season because of a knee injury, he announced on Tuesday.The world number one has not played since winning Wimbledon in July. In a video message on social media, he said he and his doctors had decided he needed a course of treatment, meaning "the 2026 season is officially over". Sinner, 25, said he also had to think about his long-term career and would do everything possible to return to full fitness. His team said in a statement that the treatment, for inflammation in his knee, was being carried out now to give him time to recover before preparations for 2027 begin. Italian broadcaster Sportmediaset reported that the problem is inflammation of a tendon in his right knee, outside the joint, which has troubled him for more than three months. It said several specialists advised against surgery and recommended conservative therapy, meaning rest and no high-intensity training. Sinner will miss the Vienna and Paris tournaments, the Six Kings Slam exhibition event, the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup. He had already skipped the US Open, the China Open and the Shanghai Masters. The first Grand Slam of 2027, the Australian Open, runs from 11 to 31 January. The absence puts his ranking at risk. Sinner leads Germany's Alexander Zverev by 11,000 points to 9,720, according to Sky Sports, and Zverev is expected to overtake him. Sinner will stay on top at least until the end of the Vienna tournament, which runs from 26 October to 1 November. That would take him to 95 consecutive weeks at number one. Sinner won six titles this season. He took the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, completing the career Golden Masters, before beating Zverev in the Wimbledon final to claim a fifth Grand Slam title. Photo credit: Victor Velter / Shutterstock.com

Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner has ruled himself out of the rest of the 2026 season because of a knee injury, he announced on Tuesday. The world number one has not played since in July. In a video message on social media, he said he and his doctors had decided he needed a course of treatment, meaning "the 2026 season is officially over". Sinner, 25, said he also had to think about his long-term career and would do everything possible to return to full fitness. His team said in a statement that the treatment, for inflammation in his knee, was being carried out now to give him time to recover before preparations for 2027 begin. Italian broadcaster Sportmediaset reported that the problem is inflammation of a tendon in his right knee, outside the joint, which has troubled him for more than three months. It said several specialists advised against surgery and recommended conservative therapy, meaning rest and no high-intensity training. Sinner will miss the Vienna and Paris tournaments, the Six Kings Slam exhibition event, the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup. He had already skipped the US Open, the China Open and the Shanghai Masters. The first Grand Slam of 2027, the Australian Open, runs from 11 to 31 January. The absence puts his ranking at risk. Sinner leads Germany's Alexander Zverev by 11,000 points to 9,720, according to Sky Sports, and Zverev is expected to overtake him. Sinner will stay on top at least until the end of the Vienna tournament, which runs from 26 October to 1 November. That would take him to 95 consecutive weeks at number one. Sinner won six titles this season. He took the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, completing the career Golden Masters, before beating Zverev in the Wimbledon final to claim a fifth Grand Slam title. Photo credit: Victor Velter / Shutterstock.com