Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Italian Open after consulting with doctors about a hip issue. The same injury prevented the 22-year-old from playing his Madrid Open quarter-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier this week, and it may go on to hamper his preparation for the French Open at the end of the month.
Sinner is in the midst of a tremendous individual season, having picked up the first Grand Slam title of the year, and the first of his career, at the Australian Open. He followed that by winning the Rotterdam Open, enjoying a deep run at Indian Wells and notching a straight-sets win at the Miami Open.
The youngster took that imperious form to Madrid last weekend and made relatively light work of his first three opponents before pulling out of his quarter-final clash with Auger-Aliassime.
And that same issue will prevent him from competing in front of his native Italian fans in Rome, as he wrote on X: “It is not easy to write this message but after speaking again with the doctors and specialists about my hip problems I have to announce that unfortunately I will not be able to play in Rome.
“Obviously I’m very sad that I didn’t recover, it being one of my favorite tournaments ever. I couldn’t wait to come back and play at home in front of the Italian crowd.
“I will still come to Rome for a few days and stop by the Foro Italico. Thank you for your messages of support which I appreciate very much! Now I will work with my team and doctors to be ready for Roland Garros. See you soon.”
Sinner will be one of the favourites to win the French Open if he manages to recover in time for the tournament. The Italian has only once made it to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros but many expect him to go further this year in light of his dazzling recent form.
The Italian Open men’s draw has now been thrown two curveballs as Sinner’s withdrawal came just a day after Carlos Alcaraz ruled himself out of the tournament due to a forearm injury.
The 20-year-old wrote on Instagram: “I felt some pain after playing in Madrid, some discomfort in my arm. Today I did some tests and I have a muscle edema in my pronator teres, a consequence of my recent injury.
“Unfortunately I will not be able to play in Rome. I need to rest so I can recover and play 100 per cent pain free. I am very sorry, I will see you next year.”
