MILAN — Jannik Sinner has been handed a worrying update on his ongoing knee injury just days after withdrawing from the China Open, with surgery now emerging as a remote possibility. The world No. 1 has been sidelined since successfully defending his Wimbledon title in July, missing all three North American hard-court tournaments including the US Open due to knee pain, and has already dropped 1,950 ranking points with a further 500 set to fall from his China Open triumph 12 months ago.
Sinner, who has visited multiple clinics to diagnose the issue most recently at the La Madonnina clinic in Milan, had revealed the location of the pain but not the exact nature of the problem. According to journalist Gabriele Parpiglia in a report featured by Corriere dello Sport, the condition is iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), affecting the band of tissue along the outside of the thigh and knee. “The iliotibial band is a strip of fibrous tissue that is thick, strong and not very elastic,” the report explained. “It originates in the pelvis, runs down the entire outer side of the thigh and attaches to the tibia, just below the knee. It acts like a steel cable, helping to stabilise the leg."
The report detailed that the problem occurs just above the knee where the band passes over the lateral epicondyle of the femur, with every bend and straightening causing the band to slide over the bone until tissue between the fascia and bone becomes inflamed. “That’s why we describe it as ‘extra-articular’: the problem is not inside the knee. It is outside, on the outer side,” it added. Recovery is expected to focus initially on conservative treatment with rest and physiotherapy, plus extensive work on hips and glutes, other physical therapies and potentially injections to manage pain, followed by a gradual return to training loads rather than an immediate return for the early indoor tournaments.
Surgery is mentioned only as a remote, extreme scenario if conservative treatments fail, not the current expectation for the five-time Grand Slam champion. The immediate concern is his schedule, with the report indicating Sinner is set to miss the Shanghai Masters 1000 from October 7 to 18, pushing his comeback further back. The layoff has also cost him in the ATP Live Race to Turin, where Alexander Zverev has leapfrogged him to open a 700-point lead and, unlike Sinner, will compete at the China Open beginning September 30 where 500 points are on offer to the champion.
The latest setback reverses Jannik Sinner's planned Beijing return after his knee layoff and leaves his indoor season timeline dependent on how the conservative rehabilitation progresses.