Jannik Sinner was forced to retire in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, bringing his title defence to a distressing end. The world No. 2 appeared to pick up an injury towards the end of the second set and started cramping in the decider.
Sinner could barely walk by the time he threw in the towel with Tallon Griekspoor leading 6-7 7-5 3-2. He has yet to address his concerning injury retirement, and it’s not known if Sinner’s upcoming schedule will be affected.
The four-time Major winner is next signed up to compete in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, an exhibition event staged on October 15, 16 and 18. Sinner played in the lucrative tournament last year and went on to lift the trophy, earning £4.5m in prize money.
The six players in the draw get £1.1m just for turning up and competing, while the champion gets an extra £3.4m. Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final.
The pair are set to return to Riyadh next week along with Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Sinner’s participation is now in doubt.
Sinner is also entered in the ATP 500 event in Vienna, which kicks off on October 20. He will then play the Paris Masters a week later, and has qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin, held from November 12 to 19.
The world No. 2 is expected to finish his season at the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, where he will represent his country. Sinner has helped Italy win the World Cup of men’s tennis in back-to-back years, as they clinched the trophy in 2023 and 2024.
But all of that could well be on hold if Sinner has picked up a long-term injury. The 24-year-old has yet to speak out on his physical condition, but the ATP officially listed the reason for Sinner’s retirement as cramps.
The brutally hot and humid conditions have affected plenty of players so far in Shanghai. Sinner is one of seven men to have retired from the tournament, while players like Holger Rune and Jerry Shang have called the doctor and had their vitals checked mid-match.
Griekspoor also struggled in the humidity on Sunday night, and he later said: “Very unfortunate ending to what I thought was a high-quality match.
“I thought first set we were both serving really, really well. Was not much to do on his serve and neither on mine. I thought he played a very, very high-level tiebreak where he hit a couple of lines, couple of aces, so not much to do there.
“Just very happy, content with how I stayed in the second set. Got a little bit lucky by saving that 0-40 on 4-3. Yeah, like I said, not the way you want to win, brutal conditions here.
“I wasn’t really fresh either myself. Yeah, I wish him a speedy recovery, and hopefully we see him back very soon.”