Jannik Sinner will not defend his China Open title. The world No. 1 said on Friday that his right knee is still not ready, extending an absence that began after he won Wimbledon in July and has already taken in the whole of the North American hard-court swing, the US Open included.
“I’m very sorry to announce that I won’t be able to play in Beijing this year,” Sinner said in a video posted on X, according to the ATP Tour. “My knee is not where I would like it to be and I’m not ready to compete yet.”
What he leaves in Beijing. Sinner has made the ATP 500 at the China National Tennis Center his own: champion in 2023 and 2025, finalist in between. “I’ve had great times there in the past, winning the title also last year,” he said. “I’m very disappointed that I cannot defend it this year.” The tournament runs from 30 September to 6 October, and the ATP lists Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur among the top-10 players still in the field. Our China Open guide covers dates, draw and how to watch.
The plan that did not hold. When Sinner withdrew from the US Open on 21 August, his team said he would stay in Europe to continue his recovery with the aim of being ready for the Asian swing and the tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai, the ATP Tour reported. Beijing is now gone and Friday’s announcement, as the ATP reported it, said nothing about Shanghai. “I will do everything possible to be there on court as soon as I can,” was as far as Sinner went.
What it does to No. 1. On 23 September the ATP put the gap between Sinner and Zverev in the PIF ATP Rankings at 1,810 points. Sinner’s 500 points from last year’s Beijing title come off his total with nothing to replace them. Zverev is defending 100 points in Beijing, and when those drop the ATP says 40 points from this year’s United Cup take their place unless he earns more than 40 in Beijing.
On those figures, and with nothing else changing, the range is wide. If Zverev wins the title, the gap falls to 910 points. If he loses his first match, it still falls, to 1,370. Those are GTN’s calculations from the ATP’s published numbers, not an ATP projection.
The rest of the season. Beijing was the first of five points drops for Sinner. After it he is defending 50 points in Shanghai, 500 in Vienna, 1,000 in Paris and 1,500 at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he won every match last year. Zverev’s remaining defence is 50, 330, 400 and 200 at the same four events. Across the whole run-in, the ATP counts 3,550 points coming off for Sinner and 1,080 for Zverev.
The season-only count already favours the German. Zverev’s US Open title took him to 8,650 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 700 clear of Sinner, and the ATP treats the Race as the barometer for year-end No. 1. Both men have qualified for Turin; our Race to Turin page tracks the rest of the field.
The season so far. None of this touches what Sinner did before July. He is 44-3 for 2026, according to the ATP, with Masters 1000 titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome that completed the Career Golden Masters, and a second Wimbledon title on top of them.
What comes next. Shanghai follows Beijing and Tokyo, and both Sinner and Zverev have only 50 points to defend there; our Shanghai Masters guide has the dates. After that the tour moves indoors, the stretch laid out in our guide to the European indoor season, where most of Sinner’s remaining points sit.
