Jannik Sinner faces rankings blow after injury nightmare forces him out of Madrid Open

Jannik Sinner close up

Jannik Sinner’s hip injury has taken an alarming turn after he was forced to pull out of the Madrid Masters.

Sinner has been nursing the problem throughout the tournament and gave a hint that he may not continue in the event earlier his week.

The world No 2 was evidently struggling in his previous encounter against Pavel Kotov on Monday night, repeatedly holding his hip during his 6-2, 7-5 triumph.

“I’ve struggled now a little bit in the last period with my right hip.. we’re trying to find a solution,” said Sinner after his match against Kotov.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious. But I can feel it. Sometimes I feel it more like today. Some days are a little better. Let’s see. I have a good team behind me.”

Now the Australian Open champion has confirmed he has been forced to pull out of the tournament, as he made the announcement on his social media platforms.

A hip problem is one of the biggest problems a tennis player can deal with, with the movement required to compete at the highest level of the game putting great strain on the hip.

Sinner has consistently suggested his hip problem is not serious, but it is clearly giving him some trouble his week and there must now be doubts over whether he will be fit to play in front of his adoring Italian fans at the Rome Masters, with that tournament getting underway on May 8.

This injury could also delay Sinner’s hopes of becoming world No 1 for the first time and may well end his hopes of knocking Novak Djokovic off the top of the rankings in Rome.

Sinner would have needed a longer run in Madrid and a deep run in Rome to dethrone Djokovic, but he will have big chances to rise to the top of the ATP list at te French Open later this month and then during the grass court season that follows.

The gap between Djokovic and Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings would have been down to just 240 points if the Italian had won the Madrid Open.

He could then have had a realistic shot of taking top spot in the rankings in front of his Italian fans, but that dream may now be gone.

The news of Sinner’s exit followed a concerning injury update issued by Carlos Alcaraz after he lost his quarter-final against Andrey Rublev.

Alcaraz has been nursing a forearm problem in recent weeks and that affected his performance in his three-set defeat against Rublev.

Now Alcaraz has admitted he is a doubt for the Rome Masters, even though he intends to fly to the Italian capital for a tournament that gets underway on May 8.

“Well, yeah, today probably I felt more in the forearm than yesterday’s match,” admitted Alcaraz.

“I mean, playing three hours yesterday, I knew that I’m gonna feel something or I’m gonna think about it even more.

“You know, playing someone like Rublev that I couldn’t push to the limit in every point is tough. But yeah, the end of the match, I sliced the forehand a bit more.

“Well, it was difficult feelings, let’s say, at the end of the match, but the point is that I’m gonna go to Rome.

“I’m going to work these days to be close to 100% or in a good way to play in Rome, but I’m gonna decide in the next coming days. But I think I’ll be okay to play Rome.”