World number one Jannik Sinner has pulled out of the ​Cincinnati Open with a right knee injury, ‌tournament organisers said on Sunday, handing ​the Italian a blow ⁠in his preparations for this month’s U.S. Open.

The 24-year-old Italian, who claimed his fifth Grand ‌Slam title at Wimbledon last month, had also pulled out ‌of the Canadian Open, a key ‌warm-up ⁠event for the U.S. Open.

Sinner ⁠won the Cincinnati title in 2024 and finished runner-up to seven-times Grand Slam champion Carlos ​Alcaraz there last ‌year.

“After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the ‌Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” ​Sinner said in a statement.

“My right knee has been bothering me ⁠and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, ‌I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet.

“I’m very disappointed not to be able to play in Cincinnati… I can’t wait to be back next year and I’m ‌now focusing on getting ready for the ​U.S. Open.”

Sinner’s withdrawal further depletes the field in Cincinnati, with U.S. ⁠Open champion Alcaraz also sidelined by a ⁠wrist injury.

The Cincinnati Open main draw begins on August 13, while ‌the U.S. Open main draw gets under way on August 30.

Tennis fans of recent vintage never tire of talking about the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

It’s understandable too, for they collectively won 66 Majors in a 20-year-span, triggered constant improvements in each other’s games and elevated the quality to levels unseen.

When Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner started dominating the Tour — they have won 11 of the last 13 Slams — supporters were no doubt enthralled, but there was a longing for a third power-centre to break the duo’s omnipresence.

Sunday’s final at Wimbledon, where Jannik Sinner brought down the German wall in Alexander Zverev 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4, may be the first sign of such a triumvirate developing in this era.

“Big, big respect to Sascha [Zverev], because he’s doing something amazing,” Sinner said after winning his second straight Wimbledon and fifth Major.

“His game is growing, and what’s good is that you have someone who is pushing you to the limit. We hope that Carlos [Alcaraz] comes back [from his wrist injury], because tennis needs him. Having Novak [Djokovic] around, and with all the young players coming up, it’s really nice.”

Zverev, 29, did not play like a man who had lost nine straight times to Sinner. The French Open win last month had done wonders to his confidence, and he came out all guns blazing, hitting monstrous serves and big ground-strokes to stay with the World No. 1 for the first two sets.

“We’ve had glimpses of him trying to play that way in previous head-to-head matchups,” Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill said.

“In Miami [where Sinner won 6-3, 7-6(4)], he served really well and was unloading on every single forehand. He had a couple of chances in that match. We knew he was capable of doing it. We just didn’t know for how long he could.” Though Zverev’s level dropped slightly in the third and fourth, he ran up a break-point at 3-3 in the third — saved by a brave Sinner drop shot — and severely tested the Italian when the latter was serving for the championship at 5-4 in the fourth.

At 30-30, it required Sinner to come up with a remarkable backhand cross-court lift, almost parallel to the net, to turn an excruciating rally his way.

“This year has been a progress,” stated Zverev, who is now the new World No. 2. “I haven’t beaten, but I’ve pushed them to the limits. Alcaraz in Australia, Jannik may be here. Even though it was four sets, it was very close, and could have gone five as well.

“I’ve always been the third guy in a way. So if I get closer to them, be in the mix to win the big tournaments, it would be great”.

If a tournament’s final four has the top two seeds, its greatest active champion and a local hero, it’s like drawing a royal flush in poker. With the best cards in hand, the event is always going to be a winner.

Wimbledon 2026 will have a chance to experience this on Friday. Jannik Sinner, the top seed and defending champion, will take on Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Major winner and seven-time titlist at SW19. In the other encounter, second seed and reigning Roland-Garros trophy-holder Alexander Zverev will meet British wildcard Arthur Fery.

There is both familiarity and novelty. Sinner and Djokovic have sparred 11 times overall, with the Italian ahead 6-5. Zverev and Fery are first-time Wimbledon semifinalists and have no history of facing each other.

The Sinner-Djokovic fixture will be more intriguing, primarily because the gap between them appears to have shrunk a little. Sinner, who thrashed Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 here in 2025, is not the player who went on an awe-inspiring 29-match winning run earlier this year. At the French Open, he was troubled by the heat and lost early; over the past 10 days here, he has not been at his clinical best.

Djokovic beat Sinner over five pulsating sets in the Australian Open semifinal in January, snapping a run of five defeats to the Italian. But much will depend on the 39-year-old’s recovery after the five-hour, 15-minute marathon versus Felix Auger-Aliassime. Two days’ rest would have helped, and so will the additional time on Friday, for Djokovic’s will be the second match.

Back in Australia, the Serb was aided by Jakub Mensik’s withdrawal (fourth round) and Lorenzo Musetti’s mid-match retirement (quarters). Sinner, however, remains wary. “Even when I had the [winning] streak, every match with Novak had its own story,” Sinner said.

“Especially on grass, if you have a bad serving day or if you are not feeling the ball well, it’s going to be tough. He has won this tournament so many times and he knows exactly how to approach it.”

Zverev and Fery will be short on that foreknowledge, but the German, by virtue of being more pedigreed, should fancy himself. This will be his 12th Slam semifinal, and after succeeding in Paris, his confidence will be sky-high.

On the other hand, 23-year-old Fery was ranked No. 114 coming into Wimbledon and had only won two Major contests all career. He will be pumped up nonetheless, more so after the straight-sets demolition of Flavio Cobolli and the five-set victory over Grigor Dimitrov. Will there be another chapter in the fairytale?

When Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of both the French Open and Wimbledon, it appeared as if Jannik Sinner had no credible threats. Then at Roland-Garros, when the World No. 1 lost in the second round under sweltering conditions, a new foe emerged — heat.

Tuesday at Wimbledon was Sinner’s first test against this unconventional adversary, and to his immense credit, the 24-year-old came out unscathed to beat German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 in two hours and 35 minutes.

Temperatures were admittedly not as bad as Paris, and just about touched 30 degrees. Nonetheless, it felt harsh because of the high prevailing humidity. With the entirety of Court No. 1 bathed in sunshine and there being no cloud in sight, it was difficult to spot even an inch of shade to retreat to. Yet, Sinner found a safe haven — in his clutch play.

“It’s a good step forward,” he said after sealing his berth in Friday’s semifinal. “We worked a lot after Paris. Discussed what went wrong and prepared in the best possible way. It was a huge test. But I felt really comfortable on the physical side.”

Tennis-wise, Struff had the attributes to trouble Sinner. From a height of 6’4”, his service was his biggest weapon, and on grass, as always, it acquired an additional layer of menace.

The 36-year-old was also in form, having overcome the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz en route his maiden Major quarterfinal.

Sinner’s usually solid ground-strokes had deserted him for much of the first week, and this continued in the first set on Tuesday as well. But at 5-5, the defending champion broke through, putting together a sequence of two forehand winners and a fierce return that hurried Struff into a low — and ultimately futile — volley. A hold to 15 gave him a one-set lead.

Margins remained tight in the second stanza, and worryingly, Sinner’s serve started wobbling. He couldn’t consolidate a break at 2-1, and then had a distressing time in the tenth game as Struff ran up a set-point.

However, the Italian turned it around like the flick of a switch, hammering two service winners and an ace. In the tie-break that ensued minutes later, Sinner landed five big first-serves, and soon led two sets to love.

At the French Open against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Sinner was 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 ahead before melting under the torrid weather. But here, he didn’t let those bad memories bog him down, with the immaculate drop he executed to lead 2-1 in the third set indicative of his calm mind. A break of serve seemed imminent, and it duly arrived in the eighth game when Struff sent a stretched backhand long. Sinner leaned forward, and dashed to the finish like an expert runner on a smooth downhill home stretch.

Indian juniors advance

Elsewhere, India’s Arnav Vijay Paparkar overcame third seed Keaton Hance of the United States 6-2, 6-3 to enter the third round of the boys’ singles.

On Monday, Arnav and his Thai partner Kunanan Pantaratorn had booked their place in the doubles second round while Maaya Rajeshwaran and her U.S. comrade Thea Frodin had done the same in girls’ doubles.

In recent times, the most prominent Italian understudy to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has been Lorenzo Musetti.

He has made the quarterfinals or better at all four Slams, been in the ATP top-10 for a good part of the last 14 months, and even climbed up to a career-high ranking of No. 5 ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Over the past few months, however, Flavio Cobolli has usurped that understudy spot. Ranked outside the top-20 at the start of the season, the 24-year-old broke into the top-10 on the back of a stirring run to the recent French Open final.

On Monday, with a straight-sets victory over fifth seed Alex de Minaur, he made his second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal. He will meet British wild card Arthur Fery, who ended Grigor Dimitrov’s stay by clinching a nerve-wracking five-setter.

“I played one of my best matches ever, especially on this surface, which is always tough,” said Cobolli. “I found a way to a high level for the whole match and it was really impressive,” added the World No. 10.

Encouragingly, the wholesome performance came after quite a few back-to-the-wall efforts. Cobolli recovered from a first set bagel (6-0) to scrape through in five sets against the big-serving Karen Khachanov in the previous round; of the 12 sets he has won, six have been tense tie-breaks.

What should also hold him in good stead is his powerful game. Cobolli belongs to the group of players who literally bludgeon the ball, with Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik and Tomas Machac the other prominent members. When combined with a capable serve, it can prove devastating.

Movement and foot dexterity are allies too. After all, Cobolli spent five years at the famed football academy of AS Roma before switching full-time to the racquet sport. Recently in Paris, he did an entire lap of Court Philippe-Chatrier while juggling a tennis ball.

After the win against de Minaur, much to the delight of the Court No. 1 audience, he even re-created Cristiano Ronaldo’s famed mid-air twirl celebration.

The skills are there. The crowd has been charmed. Will silverware follow?

Defending Wimbledon ‌champion Jannik Sinner had several members of Europe’s Ryder Cup team ​watching his second-round clash with Nuno Borges on Wednesday (July 1, 2026) and in golfing ⁠parlance he kept it straight down the middle in a relatively risk-free victory.

After the hazards he found against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in a nervy five-set victory in round one, top seed Sinner rarely ‌looked in danger as he won 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-4.

World number 48 Borges provided stubborn resistance and was a point away from taking the second ‌set, but Sinner was rock-solid when it mattered as he avoided another long ‌contest.

Sinner, ⁠the hot favourite in the absence of injured chief rival Carlos Alcaraz, ⁠failed to convert any of the three break points he earned in the opening set but stepped on the throttle in the tiebreak to take the opener.

Ryder Cup players watching on

He strayed off course at the ​start of the second set and ‌sprayed a forehand long to drop his serve.

Portugal’s Borges stayed ahead throughout the set, but serving at 5-4 he buried a routine backhand into the net on set point and paid the price as Sinner broke back and then reeled off ‌six points in a row to win the second tiebreak of the match.

Sinner ​dominated thereafter to rack up an Italian record 95th Grand Slam match win, moving ahead of Nicola Pietrangeli.

Francesco Molinari, Italy’s first winner of the ⁠British Open in 2018, was in the Royal Box along with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose to watch the man who became Italy’s first Wimbledon champion by ‌beating Alcaraz last year.

Molinari, whose laser-like accuracy helped him triumph on the treacherous Carnoustie course, would have been impressed with the precision Sinner used to navigate his way around the more manicured turf of Centre Court.

Sinner says he has to improve at Golf

Sinner wrapped up the win in two hours 32 minutes but was not tempted to copy the ‘golf swing’ celebration that Alcaraz used at last year’s U.S. Open.

“I’m not as good ‌as Carlos at golf that’s for sure,” Sinner, who will face unseeded American Jenson Brooksby next, said ​on court. “I’m pretty sure if we played I would hit everything except the ball, I still have to improve.”

More importantly, the 24-year-old said his ⁠level of tennis was on the up after arriving at Wimbledon without having played a competitive ⁠match since his shock defeat by Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open, when he suffered physically in searing temperatures.

“Two wins ‌now and we’ll see what’s coming next,” Sinner said. “A couple of things to improve but I’m very happy.”

Sinner may be less happy about the weather forecast for next ​week with heatwave conditions possibly returning to London after a mild start to the Championships.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner is feeling optimistic about his Wimbledon title defense after sweating through an exhibition match in a heat wave on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) and confirming he underwent testing following his physical meltdown at the French Open.

The Italian star hasn’t entered any tour-level events in the buildup to the grass-court Grand Slam, which starts Monday (June 29, 2026), so his 6-3, 6-3 victory over Cam Norrie in sweltering west London will have to suffice.

“It was very warm, but physically I felt good,” Sinner told reporters.

The appearance at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic came just under a month after the Italian star struggled with dizziness in a stunning second-round loss at the French Open.

“We did some testing. We tried to understand what happened,” he said. “We came to a conclusion which is very good.” Wednesday’s match went ahead with southern England under a “ red warning ” for extreme heat issued by Britain’s national weather service.

“As Cam said, a very hot day,” Sinner said in an on-court interview. “Exhibition matches, they are good because we try out a couple of things and hopefully be as good as we can then for the next week.” The interviewer asked him what he was trying out. “I don’t know,” a smiling Sinner responded.

Earlier on Wednesday at the All England Club, Sinner wore a cooling vest at practice. During the match against Norrie, he didn’t use ice packs like in the past.

The early afternoon temperature in Fulham, where the grass-court event was held, was 33 C (91.4 F) with a slight breeze.

The temperature at Wimbledon on Monday is expected to be a much more manageable 24 C (75 F).

In Paris, he was ahead by two sets and 5-1 in the third before losing to Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1. The temperature on Court Philippe-Chatrier rose to 32 C (90 F) during the match, and Sinner was clearly having a tough time cooling himself down as he reached for multiple ice bags.

Sinner, who has a history of problems with heat and cramps, didn’t blame the heat entirely after the loss. “I think many things together caused this problem. I just need my time now to process what went wrong here,” he said at the time.

At the grass-court major a year ago, Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final for his first Wimbledon title. Alcaraz will miss this year’s tournament because of a wrist injury.

The U.K.’s weather service said the region could see “a two to three-day period where maximum temperatures in the shade exceed 37 Celsius, perhaps rising to 38 to 40 Celsius in some places. The heat will be accompanied by high humidity, exacerbating the potential for discomfort and health impacts, with very warm and humid night times also reducing the ability for people to recover overnight.”

Heat impacts Wimbledon qualifying tournament

Because of the heat warnings, the ball boys and ball girls for Wednesday’s matches at Wimbledon’s qualifying tournament were kept home. Their duties were handled by “our Court Services team — who are all adults,” the All England Club said.

Also Wednesday, there was a temporary loss of power to part of the Roehampton qualifying venue “which meant that the electronic line calling system could not function,” the club added. Heat will be looked at as a possible cause for the outage.

Jannik Sinner reached the semifinals of the Italian Open on Thursday (May 14, 2026) after seeing off Andrey Rublev and establishing a new record of consecutive wins in Masters 1000 tournaments.

Another straight-sets victory, this time 6-2, 6-4 over Rublev, moved Sinner up to 32 straight wins in the ATP’s top-ranked events, one more than the previous record established by Novak Djokovic in 2011.

“I don’t play for records; I play just for my own story,” said Sinner on court.

“At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another day, another opponent, a different opponent.”

Rublev was Sinner’s first seeded opponent at this year’s tournament in Rome and the World No. 1 made short work of his task in front of a delighted centre court.

On Friday (May 15, 2026), Sinner could face Daniil Medvedev, winner of the 2023 title at the Foro Italico, with the seventh seed taking on lucky loser Martin Landaluce.

Sinner looks near unbeatable at the moment and with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz out injured, he is the heavy favourite to become the first Italian to win the Rome title in five decades, with a potential career Grand Slam on the cards at the French Open.

Rublev offered little resistance, the Russian dropping his own serve in the first game of both sets to give Sinner a handy leg up and committing 28 unforced errors in 18 games.

Sinner, meanwhile, showed flashes of his best tennis but also started to look tired towards the end of the match, visibly touching his left thigh before confidently serving for the match.

“However it goes it will be a win for me; if I win great but even if things don’t go well, that’s ok because I’ll have a few more days to prepare for Paris, which is my main objective this year.”

Gauff in final

Coco Gauff followed Sinner by reaching the Rome final for the second straight year after beating veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3. The American star has struggled on clay this season, with a last-16 exit in the Madrid Open coming after a disappointing run to the quarterfinals in Stuttgart.

But she dealt with Romanian Cirstea — who is set to retire at the end of the year — professionally as Spring sunshine burst out on centre court, helped by a marked improvement in her often erratic service game.

The top tennis players are already upset they’re not receiving a bigger share of tournament revenues at the French Open. Now they’re hoping Wimbledon and the U.S. Open respond to their demands, according to Jannik Sinner.

Fellow No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said this week the players should consider a boycott.

“It’s more about respect. Because I think we give much more than what we are getting back,” Sinner said on Thursday at the Italian Open. “It’s not only for the top players; it’s for all of us players.”

Sinner wouldn’t commit to a boycott.

“It’s tough to say,” he said. “I cannot predict the future in a way. But in the same time I also believe that somewhere we need to start.”

The players have targeted the upcoming French Open for reducing players’ share of revenue to an alleged 15% — compared to the 22% at ATP and WTA events like the Italian Open this week.

The same group of players sent a letter a year ago to the heads of the four Grand Slams seeking more prize money and a greater say in decision-making. Wimbledon increased its 2025 total pot by 7%, the U.S. Open by 20% and the Australian Open in January by 16%.

“It’s not nice that after one year we are not even close to conclusion of what we would like to have,” Sinner said. “I truly believe that within 48 hours you have not only a response but you also have a meeting.”

French Open organisers announced last month they were increasing overall prize money by about 10% for an overall pot of €61.7 million ($72.1 million), with the total amount up €5.3 million from last year. But the players’ statement said “the underlying figures tell a very different story,” claiming they will receive a smaller share of tournament revenues.

The players claim their share of Roland Garros revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to 14.9% projected in 2026.

Wimbledon has not yet announced its prize money for this year.

“I think in the next couple of weeks we know also the prize money we’re going to have in Wimbledon. We truly hope that it’s going to be better. Then, of course, U.S. Open,” Sinner said.

Including profit sharing and an end-of-the-year bonus pool, men’s players actually get about 30% of the share of revenues at ATP Tour events like the Italian Open.

“We’ve been quiet for a long time and now the time has come to raise our voice,” Sinner added in Italian. “We’re not asking for 50% — we wouldn’t even dare — but right now we’re getting too little.”

French Open organizers have not responded to requests for comment.

Novak Djokovic announced in January he was cutting ties with the Professional Tennis Players Association he co-founded, and that sued the sport’s governing bodies last year.

And while the 24-time Grand Slam champion said he has not been involved in the current player protest, he said the “players know that they’ll always have my support.

“The new generations are coming up,” Djokovic added. “I’m glad that there is willingness from the leaders of our sport, like Sabalenka, to really step up and really understand the dynamics of how the tennis politics works and understand the nuances and really what needs to be done not only for her benefit and well-being, but for everyone.”

One of the big issues affecting tennis governance was that there were seven organizing bodies: The four Grand Slams, ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation.

“Tennis, as any big global sport, is a big business,” Djokovic said. “It needs to be approached from all sides with willingness to work together and figure out what the formula is.”

World number one Jannik Sinner became the first man to ​win five successive Masters 1000 titles after he produced a ‌breathtaking display to crush Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-2 in ​just 57 minutes in the Madrid Open ⁠final on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Italian underlined his authority on the men’s tour by becoming the first man to claim the season’s ‌opening four Masters events, extending a run that has spanned hardcourts and clay.

Following his Paris triumph ‌late last season, Sinner has proved to be an ‌unbeatable ⁠force at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo ⁠and now Madrid.

It was Sinner’s 10th win in 14 meetings with Zverev and his ninth in a row since the German last beat him ​at the 2023 U.S. ‌Open. Across that nine-match sequence, Zverev has managed only two sets.

Sinner raced through the Madrid final, turning a marquee contest into a one-sided affair and leaving little ‌doubt about the current balance of power at ​the top of the sport.

“Please consider taking a break so you can leave something for us ⁠mortals,” Zverev said during the trophy ceremony.

“Playing against Sinner right now is just so hard. He leaves us no ‌chance.”

Sinner set the tone immediately, opening the match with an ace and two unreturnable serves. He broke Zverev in the second game and surged to a 3-0 lead, striking the ball cleanly off the clay as the German struggled to find his rhythm.

After breaking serve again to ‌lead 4-0, Sinner had conceded just five points through the opening ​five games. Zverev briefly held to make it 5-1, but Sinner closed out the set with ⁠an ace after 25 minutes.

The second set offered only fleeting ⁠resistance. After both players held serve early on, Sinner broke in the third game following another Zverev ‌unforced error and never looked back.

He moved comfortably to 4-2 before breaking again and then served out ​the match without difficulty to complete the rout.