Alcaraz blames relentless ATP sked for Sinner saga

Carlos Alcaraz – currently injured himself – has blamed a heartless ATP tournament schedule for causing Jannik Sinner to pull the plug on his 2026 season due to a lingering knee injury.

Former No. 1 Alcaraz, currently ranked third behind Sinner and 2026 double Grand Slam champion Alexander Zverev, is skipping the ongoing Shanghai Masters with a left knee injury picked up during his recent Japan Open title win.

Players are making their voices heard over the Tour rewrite of the calendar which began last season, stretching formerly one-week Masters up 10-13 days in a blatant cash grab designed to please sponsors.

The result, the Spaniard said, is now showing up as frequent injury absences and tournament pullouts.

The Shanghai event is now missing for Sinner and Alcaraz, both wildly popular in China.

“One of the reasons we have to see the players who are getting injured, I think they (are) pushing us too much out of the line sometimes to play a lot of tournaments, to play a lot of matches,” he complained directly to the Tour’s website.

“This is getting in the wrong direction.” 

The seven-time Grand Slam winner said that the absence of Sinner due to his knee and due to last for six months in total, is but one poor outcome of the controversial elongation of tournaments, with oddball mid-week starts and finishes.

“I just wish Jannik the best for these months just to be in a good shape for the next season. Hopefully we’ll see him soon. But I think they (ATP) have to see a little bit what’s going on, on the Tour and with the players.”

Main photo:- Jannik SInner and Carlos Alcaraz contested Monte Carlo Open 2026
by International Sports Fotos Ltd