The 2026 season had the potential to be Jannik Sinner‘s best-ever year on the Tour. But he will now look back at it as nothing more than a missed opportunity, as his luck with injuries has cost him big time. The Italian has confirmed that after consulting his doctors, he has decided to withdraw from the remainder of the season due to the persistent problems with his knee.

“Hello everyone. I would like to give you a little update,” he said in a video on X. “Me together with the doctors have decided that I need a course of treatment for my knee, which means that the 2026 season is officially over. The last couple of years, especially the ending in Turin, gave me so many beautiful feelings and emotions, which this year is going to be way different.”

“But at the moment, I also need to think about my long-term career. I will do everything possible to get back 100%. I thank you already in advance for your support and hope to see you very, very soon on court again.”

Despite not playing since the Wimbledon final in July, the 2026 season still proved to be Sinner’s joint second-most successful year. He finishes the season with six titles, including five Masters 1000s and the SW19 title. He could have arguably won even more if he didn’t have to withdraw from the latter half of the season. For now, the 2024 season remains Sinner’s most successful year on the Tour as he won eight titles.

He has a superb win-loss record of 44-3 this season. His only defeats came in the Australian Open semifinals against Novak Djokovic, the Qatar Open quarterfinals against Jakub Mensik, and the French Open second round against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

At one point, he went on a 30-match winning streak. This saw him win titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome. The streak was ultimately broken by Cerundolo, who made an incredible comeback despite being two sets down. The defeat was a major blow for Sinner as he suffered under the humid conditions in Paris and even felt dizzy during the match. He decided to skip all grass-court events except Wimbledon to recover.

With Sinner now out of the picture and Carlos Alcaraz’s point tally having fallen way behind, Alexander Zverev is likely to take over the rankings soon. He may as well do it in the upcoming European swing.

Alexander Zverev is likely to take over the rankings for the first time ever

According to the current situation, Zverev has 9,720 points and is 1,280 points behind Sinner’s tally of 11,000. But the Italian will be dropping a massive number of points in the European swing. This is because he clinched the titles at the Vienna Open and the Paris Masters last year.

He will be dropping 1,500 points in total. This could allow Zverev to capitalize and dethrone him. But the German will have to make deep runs in both tournaments, having reached the Vienna Open final and Paris Masters semifinals last year.

If Zverev gets eliminated before reaching these stages, then he will lose points. But Sinner’s withdrawal from the ATP Finals could be the deciding factor, as he will lose 1,500 points there. Zverev was eliminated from the group stages last year, so reaching the knockouts would see him gain points. To sum it up, Sinner is highly likely to lose his No. 1 spot by the end of the season.

Reaching the No. 1 spot would see Zverev’s lifelong dream finally come true. He has won numerous ATP titles, two Grand Slam titles, and even an Olympic Gold. But the World No. 1 ranking had always eluded him, even though he had come close to clinching it on several occasions. Now he is the favorite to take over, but can’t afford to be complacent, as there is still work to be done.