Jannik Sinner had hoped to defend the title he won in Shanghai last year and continue his momentum after his triumph in Beijing early next week, but the extreme conditions of the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season gave him cramps and forced him to retire.
During his third-round match against Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor, the world No.2 could no longer walk during the third set and was forced to shake hands with his opponent despite trying to ask the ATP physiotherapist for help.
The 24-year-old Italian is set to drop a lot of points in the ATP rankings and his chances of returning to world No.1 by the end of this season have drastically lowered, as his main rival Carlos Alcaraz has increased his lead over him and will have to defend fewer points in the final tournaments of 2025.
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Sinner has left China
The star from Sesto Pusteria has already returned to Monte Carlo and his next event will be the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia, which will be staged from 15 to 18 October with a crazy prize money of 6 million dollars. The four-time Grand Slam champion prevailed in the last edition of this event by beating Alcaraz in the final. Before the end of this season, the former world No. 1 will also compete in the Vienna ATP 500, the Paris Masters 1000 and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin (while his presence at the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna is in doubt).
Meanwhile, top analyst Benoit Maylin wanted to highlight Griekspoor's merits behind Jannik's retirement in Shanghai. "It's no secret that the conditions are really brutal in Shanghai this year and that's also why Sinner had to retire, but it would be unfair to deny that Tallon pushed his opponent to the limit with his performance yesterday. He really played his best tennis" he wrote on X.
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