October was supposed to offer tennis players one final opportunity to salvage difficult campaigns, collect ranking points, and build momentum before the new season. Instead, a growing group of players has decided there is little to gain from competing while their bodies are still struggling.

Eva Lys, Joao Fonseca, and Camila Osorio have all brought their 2026 seasons to an early close, joining a list that already includes some of the sport’s biggest names.

Eva Lys Opens Up About Arthritis and a Difficult 2026

Lys announced her decision on Instagram on October 17, revealing just how difficult the year had become.

“This has been one of the toughest years of my life, both on and off the court,” the German wrote. “It’s been frustrating, exhausting, and at times really hard to accept, especially when you work so hard for something and your body and mind just don’t cooperate.”

Her ongoing battle with arthritis has been particularly difficult to manage, prompting her and her team to change her treatment after more than six years. The adjustment will take time, and she has decided to use the remainder of the year to focus on her physical and mental health. The decision comes after a season in which her results fell well short of the level she established in 2025.

Lys had entered 2026 with expectations shaped by her breakthrough season the previous year. She reached the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open after entering the main draw as a lucky loser, having lost in qualifying before receiving a place following a withdrawal. That run made her the first women’s singles lucky loser in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open’s fourth round. She subsequently climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 39.

This season, however, has been a struggle to reproduce that form. Her first-round defeat in Beijing was followed by a drop to No. 136 in the rankings, according to the Australian Open’s October 14 player profile. The contrast with her previous campaign has been stark, but her announcement made clear that she does not view one disappointing year as a verdict on her ability.

The German also asked fans to show more understanding toward athletes dealing with problems that are not always visible during matches. “You never really know what’s going on behind the scenes,” she wrote on Instagram. Lys has not announced a specific comeback date, but she closed her message with a clear intention to return next year: “Looking forward to 2027 and everything that comes with it. I’ll be back.”

Her treatment change makes the break more than a response to poor results. With no immediate return date to work toward, Lys can focus on adjusting to the new approach rather than trying to fit recovery around another tournament.

Joao Fonseca has reached the same decision through a different route.

Joao Fonseca Prioritizes Recovery Over Defending His Basel Title

The Brazilian had hoped to return during the European indoor swing after skipping the Asian tournaments to recover from an injury-disrupted summer. Basel was meant to be his comeback event, followed by the Paris Masters. After reassessing his condition with his team, however, he concluded that he was not ready to compete at the level he expected of himself.

In a video posted on Instagram, Fonseca explained: “My plan was to come back in Europe, but after talking with my team, I don’t feel 100% ready to compete at the level I was at, and I don’t want to rush things. So I decided to prioritize my health and focus on 2027.”

The 20-year-old has not played a competitive match since representing Brazil in the Davis Cup against Switzerland in September. Earlier in the summer, he withdrew from Cincinnati before his third-round match and then missed the US Open with an abdominal injury. His subsequent decision to skip the Asian swing was intended to give him enough time to return for the final part of the season, but the recovery has taken longer than planned.

The decision comes at a significant competitive cost. Fonseca will not defend the Swiss Indoors Basel title he won in 2025 by beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final. That ATP 500 trophy remains the biggest title of his career, and missing the event means losing the 500 ranking points attached to it. His withdrawal from Paris also removes another opportunity to defend points before the season ends.

The ranking consequences could extend to the Australian Open. Brazilian outlet UOL reported on October 17 that Fonseca is set to lose 550 points from his 2025 results in Basel and Paris, potentially dropping from No. 29 to around No. 45. That projection would put him outside the top 32 seeds for Melbourne, although his eventual ranking and the tournament’s seeding cutoff will determine the final outcome.

There were still important milestones in Fonseca’s season. He reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Monte Carlo and then advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at Roland Garros. His run at the French Open included a notable victory over Novak Djokovic before he defeated Casper Ruud to reach the last eight. His priority is now to enter 2027 healthy enough to compete consistently, rather than gamble on a rushed return.

For Fonseca, the decision means giving up a valuable title defence at a stage when he is still establishing himself among the tour’s leading players. The immediate ranking cost is real, but so is the risk of returning before he can sustain the level of tennis that brought him those results in the first place.

Camila Osorio Ends Her Season After Back Injury

Camila Osorio has also decided that continuing through the Asian swing is no longer the right option. The Colombian announced on social media that she would end her season early because of a back injury that had affected her performances in Beijing and Wuhan. She had to retire from her first-round match against Ann Li at the Wuhan Open while trailing 6-1, 3-0, bringing her campaign to an abrupt end. The injury also rules her out of the Osaka tournament, which had been scheduled as her final event of the year.

In her announcement, Osorio wrote: “I wanted to share that this year did not end as I hoped, I had to end my season earlier than planned due to an injury on my back.” She also reflected on the progress she felt she had made, adding: “Felt a positive breakthrough in this time, time to listen to the body and recover again to continue with my process.”

Her 2026 singles campaign included 26 wins and 21 losses, a WTA 125 title in the Philippines and a career-best run to the third round of Roland Garros. The back injury has now taken precedence over the remaining tournaments, with the 24-year-old signing off her message by thanking her family, team, sponsors, and supporters before writing, “See you in 2027!”

Osorio’s withdrawal also ended a difficult final stretch in China. She sought medical attention early in the second set against Ann Li before retiring after 44 minutes, with the score at 6-1, 3-0. Her subsequent announcement identified the back injury as the reason for ending her season, clarifying why she would not continue to Osaka.

The decisions by Lys, Fonseca, and Osorio are part of a broader pattern across the ATP and WTA Tours. Several players have opted to end their seasons before the calendar is complete, and the reasons range from persistent injuries to longer-running health concerns.

Jannik Sinner Rules Himself Out for the Rest of the Year

Jannik Sinner is the most prominent name on the men’s side. The Italian announced on October 6 that he would not compete again in 2026 while recovering from a knee injury that has kept him out since his Wimbledon victory in July. He missed the North American hard-court swing, the US Open and the Asian tournaments before confirming that his season was over.

In a video statement, Sinner said: “At the moment, I also need to think about my long-term career.”

Sinner said he and his doctors had decided on a course of treatment for his knee, with his team explaining that the aim was to give him enough time to recover before beginning preparations for 2027. The decision rules him out of the ATP Finals in Turin, where he won the title in each of the previous two years, as well as the remaining events on the calendar.

His absence also has implications for the year-end rankings. Sinner’s decision removes him from the remaining events in which he could have defended points, creating an opportunity for his closest rivals to close the gap. It is another example of the trade-off between protecting long-term fitness and preserving a position built over the previous 12 months.

Amanda Anisimova’s Recurring Wrist Problem Ends Her Season

Amanda Anisimova has also shut down her season after a recurring left-wrist injury forced her to withdraw from the Singapore Tennis Open and China Open. “I sustained a wrist injury again, that I need to take care of,” she wrote on Instagram on September 28.

The American had been due to defend her China Open title, but the injury ended those plans and ruled her out of the rest of the year. Her 2026 results were a sharp departure from the previous season, when she won two WTA 1000 titles, reached two Grand Slam finals and qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time. She finished this year with a 22–12 record and dropped from No. 3 at the start of the season to No. 11.

The problem was not confined to one late withdrawal. Anisimova had already pulled out of Singapore because of the wrist before withdrawing from Beijing, where she was the defending champion. The recurrence meant that continuing to chase results was no longer a realistic option for the remainder of the year.

Emma Navarro’s Health Disclosure Broadens the Picture

Emma Navarro’s early finish has brought attention to health issues that she had been managing while continuing to compete. The American revealed that she had been dealing with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, which contributed to fatigue, dizziness, headaches and other symptoms.

In her Instagram post, she wrote, as reported by Reuters: “I have learned that there is no weight on the scale or leanness in your limbs that is more valuable than your health or your well-being.”

Navarro said she would use the remainder of 2026 to work on her medication and nutrition protocols, with the hope of returning for the 2027 Australian Open. She also revealed that she had been dealing with the conditions for three years and was diagnosed in November 2025. Her account highlighted the importance of adequate energy intake and medical management, rather than treating every performance problem as a matter of training harder or competing more often.

Unlike a single muscle or joint injury, RED-S can affect several systems in the body when energy intake does not adequately support both exercise and normal physiological functions. Navarro’s disclosure therefore adds a different dimension to the season-ending announcements: an athlete can continue competing while managing a health problem that requires a broader response than rest between tournaments.

Clara Tauson Adds Another Injury to the List

Clara Tauson is another recent addition to the list after retiring from her opening match at the Wuhan Open with a calf problem. The Dane, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 12 in 2025, said in a social media statement, as reported by Tennis Watcher, that “there were more lows than highs” during her campaign.

She had struggled to find sustained form and was unable to move freely after receiving treatment during the match against Marie Bouzková. Tauson has now returned home to recover, bringing an end to a season in which her ranking fell to No. 44.

The list also includes players whose seasons were curtailed by injury earlier in the year, such as Ajla Tomljanović, while Anastasia Potapova has dealt with a shoulder problem during the Asian swing. Not every withdrawal from a tournament means a player has ended the season, and the individual circumstances vary considerably.

The final weeks of the calendar usually offer opportunities to recover ranking points, secure qualification, and finish on a high. For Lys, Fonseca, Osorio and the other players ending their seasons early, those opportunities have taken a back seat to recovery. Their decisions carry different competitive costs, but each have the same calculation: a better chance of returning prepared for 202