China Open champion Jannik Sinner says players should choose what is best for them when it comes to playing tournaments, even if this means missing some high-level events.
The world No.2 spoke about the Tour schedule after storming to the China Open title on Wednesday. In the final, Sinner dropped only four games during his 6-2, 6-2 win over American rising star Learner Tien, who was playing in his first ATP final at the age of 19. The Italian joins Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only players to have won the tournament on multiple occasions. His first triumph was in 2023 when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final.
“For me, this will always be a beautiful tournament no matter what’s coming in the future,” Sinner told reporters in Beijing.
“It’s very unusual to come to a place for the first time and you win straightaway. This happened to me here. Now I have reached three finals in a row in three years. It means that I really like to play tennis here. I feel very comfortable.”
There isn’t much time for Sinner to celebrate winning his 21st Tour-level title, with his next event, the Shanghai Masters, always underway. He does have a first round bye along with the other seeded players. Although the 24-year-old will have to conduct media duties and training sessions at the event before playing his opening match, which will likely be at some point during the weekend.
The Tour schedule has been thrown into the spotlight once again due to the quick turnaround. Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from Shanghai yesterday after ‘struggling with some physical issues.’ The announcement came just hours after he won the Japan Open, where Alcaraz suffered an injury scare. Meanwhile, on the women’s Tour, Iga Swiatek reignited her criticism of the calendar by recently suggesting she may skip certain events to protect her health.
“If you go very far, like Carlos (Alcaraz) has this season, where basically every time you play you make at least the final… Tournaments are also getting longer. The Masters events are quite long, also. It’s not a one-week event, basically a two-week event. At some point, I feel like you have to jump (skip) some tournaments. But everyone thinks in different ways,” Sinner commented on the issue.
“I skipped a couple of tournaments last year because I think it was the right choice for my body and mind. You sometimes have to jump some tournaments.
“You can always choose. That’s why I say, yes, they’re mandatory, but at the end of the day, you can still choose. I chose always or I will keep choosing for my best (what is best for him).”
Elaborating further, Sinner underlines the importance of having a support team to help players make the right decision regarding their scheduling. He is currently coached on the Tour by Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill.
“It’s very difficult when you’re 23, 24, because you’re still young, to fully understand your body and mind, what the best thing is to do. That’s why exactly you have the best possible people around you trying to guide you a little bit at times.” He said.
This season, Sinner didn’t play any tournaments between the Australian Open and the Italian Open after accepting a three-month ban for an anti-doping violation. Sinner’s team and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reached a case resolution agreement regarding two failed tests in 2024, which were blamed on contamination.
“Three months… One thing is if you’re injured, you accept it better,” he said.
“This year was a little bit different. It was not easy. But at the same time, I used this time to work on things. We’ve been practicing very hard. I feel like physically I’m getting slightly better every time.”
Sinner’s opening match in Shanghai will be against Daniel Altmaier.
