Jannik Sinner will remain World No. 2 for at least another month despite a forced absence from next week's Italian Open in Rome.
Sinner has been recuperating from a hip injury he sustained at the Madrid Open. He withdrew ahead of his quarterfinal match against Felix Auger-Aliassime. He stated that the injury was becoming more painful.
On Saturday, Sinner announced his withdrawal from his home tournament in Rome on the advice of his doctors. He is currently in Monaco but is scheduled to travel to Italy on Sunday.
Sinner promised the tournament that he would stop by the Foro Italico, presumably to meet some of the fans who had been eagerly awaiting to see him in action at his first tournament in Italy since the ATP Finals in Turin last November.
The 22-year-old was in pole position to become World No. 1 before Roland Garros, but the untimely injury setback will delay that destiny. Sinner has added 200 points from Madrid thanks to his quarterfinal run.
He doesn't defend a ton of points in Rome, and with nearest challenger Carlos Alcaraz also confirming his absence next week, Sinner will maintain a gap of 1470 points over the Spaniard.
Consequently, Sinner has now secured a top-two seeding in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career at this month's French Open. He will avoid facing defending Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic until the final match.
Djokovic is the man Sinner is after. The Serb can increase his lead over Sinner in the race for the World No. 1 ranking in Rome, but he will be under pressure at Roland Garros to sustain that advantage as the reigning champion.
Additionally, Sinner lost in the second round of the clay Slam last year. So, the two could realistically interchange positions after the season's second Grand Slam.
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