A number of players have already ended their season early this year due to injuries, and now another person has joined the growing list. Jesper de Jong has been struggling with his Achilles tendon and heel pain since the start of the season. Though he managed to play several tournaments despite the pain, his condition has now worsened. With the injury still not healed, de Jong has decided to end the season early and undergo surgery.

“Hi everyone, I want to give an injury update, as not many of you may know I’ve been struggling with pain in my heel/Achilles since the first match of the season,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Some days were better than others, and I was able to play a lot of matches on adrenaline or without pain at all. But from August onwards, it got worse, and you could see a big bump on my heel, which was bothering me a lot. So it was time to find out what was wrong.”

De Jong will have his surgery in November and will only make his comeback once he is eligible to get a protected ranking. That won’t happen until April, so the Dutchman will have to remain on the sidelines for the next six months.

“After examination, it was shown that there’s an extra piece of bone that is pinching my Achilles tendon, which has a vertical tear in it. Unfortunately, that tear won’t heal as long as the bone is like this. So I’ve made the difficult decision to undergo surgery mid-November and make my comeback once I’m eligible for a protected ranking, which will be at the start of April,” he added.

Currently ranked No. 102, the 2026 season turned out to be quite forgettable for de Jong. He finishes the year with an underwhelming win-loss record of 8-15. His most impressive result of the year came at the French Open, where he reached the fourth round as a qualifier before losing to eventual champion Alexander Zverev.

De Jong alternated quite a bit between the ATP and Challenger circuits during the season. His last competitive appearance came at the Porto 2 Challenger, where he retired mid-match while trailing David Jorda Sanchis 6-4, 3-5. His last appearance on the ATP Tour came at the US Open, where he got knocked out by Zizou Bergs in the second round.

The six-month injury layoff means that de Jong will miss the remainder of the hard-court season. This includes the Australian Open and other important tournaments like the Indian Wells Masters. He is among the many players who have been forced to end their season early due to their physical condition.

Jannik Sinner and Joao Fonseca are among the players to have finished their season early

Jannik Sinner recently announced the end of his 2026 season due to a lingering knee injury. His last competitive appearance came at the Wimbledon final against Alexander Zverev. The knee injury initially forced him to withdraw from the North American swing, including the US Open.

But with the problem taking a lot of time to heal, Sinner consulted with his doctors and decided to end the season early. However, he will be in action during the final days of the year. The Italian will participate in the Six Kings Slam, which will be held from December 27-30 in Riyadh.

Joao Fonseca has also ended his season early as he is yet to recover fully from his abdominal injury. He sustained the setback at the Cincinnati Masters, and it forced him to withdraw from the US Open. While he did feature in Brazil’s Davis Cup clash against Switzerland, it was clear that he wasn’t at his physical best. He eventually brought his season to an early end due to the injury.

Jack Draper is another prominent player who has concluded his season early due to injury. The Brit is recovering from a bone bruise in his left arm and hasn’t played since the Cincinnati Masters, where he was defeated 6-3, 7-5 by Martin Landaluce in the first round.

Things aren’t that different on the WTA side, as players like Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova have ended their seasons early. The Pole recently withdrew from the Ningbo Open due to a left thigh injury. She has failed to qualify for the WTA Finals and thus, won’t be in competitive action until 2027.

On the other hand, Anisimova has pulled out of the remainder of the season due to a left wrist injury. Her last competitive appearance came at the US Open, where Anastasia Potapova got the better of her in the third round. The injury layoff has seen her drop out of the top 10, and she is now down to No. 17 in the rankings.