After not playing any matches in the US swing, Jannik Sinner‘s hard-court season is set to be delayed even further. He has been suffering from a knee injury for quite some time now, and it was the reason behind his withdrawal from the US Open. And now that same injury has also led to his withdrawal from the China Open, a tournament he won last season.

“Hello everyone, Jannik here. I want to send the warmest greetings to the Chinese fans. I’m very sorry to announce that I won’t be able to play in Beijing this year,” Sinner said in a video on X. “My knee is not there where I would like it to be, and I’m not ready to compete yet. But I will do everything possible to be there on court as soon as I can.

“What I miss the most is, of course, the tournament, the fans, and the atmosphere. I’ve had great, great times in the past, winning the title also last year. I’m very disappointed that I cannot defend it this year, but I’m very happy to come back next year, so I wish everyone a very good tournament and see you all soon on the court again.”

Sinner hasn’t made a competitive appearance since the Wimbledon final. Though the Italian has already had a very successful season and has lifted six titles, he has also missed a number of important tournaments. This includes the Masters events in Montreal and Cincinnati, the US Open, and now the China Open has also been added to the list.

Sinner’s circumstances were very different last year, as the final part of the season was the time when he elevated his form to another level. Notably, he captured the titles at the China Open, Vienna Open, Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals. He also reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open. The Shanghai Masters was the only tournament where Sinner wasn’t able to reach the final or clinch the title.

Fast forward to today, and Sinner is hoping to at least have some match practice before the ATP Finals in November. Withdrawing from the China Open will be consequential for the World No. 1, as he will have to drop 500 points right away. Alexander Zverev has become a clear threat to his ranking in recent days and could will have the opportunity to reduce Sinner’s lead if he maintains his current form in the Asian swing.

Alexander Zverev has the opportunity to dethrone Jannik Sinner before the ATP Finals

Sinner currently sits at the top with 11,500 points, and Zverev is right behind him with 9,690. The gap of 1,810 points may not look small at the moment, but Zverev can catch up pretty fast if he continues to win big in the Asian swing while Sinner remains on the sidelines.

Zverev has put himself in such a position after his recent triumph at the US Open. He made it two Grand Slam titles for the season with his victory over Ben Shelton in the final. The German has been impressive in the majors this year, reaching the semis at the Australian Open, making the final of Wimbledon, and winning titles at the French Open and the US Open.

Carlos Alcaraz has exited the picture for the time being, as his quarterfinal exit at the Flushing Meadows resulted in him losing a massive number of points. He is currently third with 5,560 points and has got some catching up to do.

This leaves Zverev as the only player who can challenge Sinner’s World No. 1 ranking. The task will be anything but easy, as Zverev will have to win multiple titles to almost reach Sinner’s points tally.

Luckily for Zverev, he doesn’t have a lot of points to defend in either Beijing or Shanghai, as he exited the tournaments in the quarterfinals and the Round of 32, respectively. But the situation may get tougher for the World No.2 if the Italian returns during the Asian swing. It remains to be seen whether Sinner will manage to keep hold of the No. 1 spot until the ATP Finals.