Rumours around Jannik Sinner’s fitness proved true when the world No 1 withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters because of a knee injury, a development that immediately sharpens the focus on Novak Djokovic’s path toward another major title.

Sinner’s exit comes only weeks after Djokovic was beaten by the Italian in the Wimbledon semi-finals. That result followed Djokovic’s victory over Sinner in the Australian Open final earlier in 2026, a reminder of how quickly the balance at the top of men’s tennis can change. After Wimbledon, many felt Djokovic’s chance to win a 25th Grand Slam title had slipped away. Now, with the US Open approaching at the end of the month, the picture looks different again.

Carlos Alcaraz is also carrying uncertainty into New York after injuring his wrist at the Barcelona Open in April and not yet returning to competitive action. Sinner, meanwhile, said in a statement on the ATP website:

“After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” he said in a statement posted on the ATP website.

“My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet.”

The Italian did not suggest in that statement that his US Open place is in danger, but doubts will remain if he reaches Flushing Meadows without full confidence in his knee over seven matches. Alcaraz is facing his own decision, and if either man is not at full strength, Djokovic may see the opening he has been waiting for.

At 39, Djokovic has shown repeatedly that he can still challenge anyone outside Sinner and Alcaraz at the biggest events. His confirmation that he will play Cincinnati for the first time since 2023 also suggests his shoulder issue is under control. He is level with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam titles and has not won a major since the 2023 US Open.

Alex Eala said she was unsure what had happened when she rolled her ankle during her third-round match against Caty McNally at the Canadian Open, but the injury did not prevent her from moving into the fourth round.

The world No. 20 led by a set and a break in the second set when she asked for the physio to treat her right ankle. McNally responded immediately, breaking to love in the next game to level the set. After both players held serve, the momentum shifted again as they exchanged more breaks, before the American broke to love in game 12 to take the set and force a decider.

There were clear concerns that Eala might be limited physically, yet she opened the final set with a break and later served out a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory.

In her post-match press conference, the 21-year-old explained the incident without suggesting any major issue. She said: “I kind of rolled my ankle in that second set. Like, I hit the forehand and I landed kind of wrong. I called the physio.

“I think I was a little, I was like, Oh, I don’t know what happened, because it happened so fast. But luckily, there’s nothing wrong with it, and it was no serious problems.

“But, I mean, yeah, today was physically, it pushed me a lot. I have a lot of matches in the bag. But that goes for good and bad. I think this is also a learning process. We’re athletes. So that kind of physical is, you know, it’s like a huge part of our job.

“I think I have a great team who is going to help me recover, and I have high hopes for the rest of the tournament.”

Eala enters the remainder of the event with confidence after winning her maiden title by defeating Jessica Pegula in the rain-delayed Washington DC Open final on Monday. She has now played seven matches in two weeks, five in Washington and two in Montreal, and said she is beginning to “feel the effects”.

“I think this match was really challenging for me. I think the whole two weeks, I guess, have been very challenging. Each match that I’ve played has presented its unique set of challenges,” Eala said.

“Today, obviously it was really close. I think, you know, like, I’m really, of course I’m feeling the effects of just everything.

“I think I’m really doing my best, like I said on court, to stay professional and stick to what I know. But everything, of course, like, these past two weeks I’ve been feeling emotions so extremely because of the circumstances, which is a great thing.

“I think I’m quite a sentimental person. But at the same time it’s just kind of like finding that balance. So, I think I’m really proud of how I handled today, and what I did on court.”

Eala will not play again until Sunday, when she meets 12th seed Belinda Bencic in the round of 16.

Iga Swiatek goes into the 2026 Cincinnati Open as the defending champion, but the field around her looks different from a year ago. Jasmine Paolini, last year’s finalist, will not be in the draw, while Swiatek must protect the points she collected in 2025 to avoid a slide from the top 10 of the WTA Rankings.

The WTA uses a rolling 52-week system, so points earned 12 months earlier fall off when the event begins and are replaced by whatever a player earns this year. That makes the Cincinnati week especially important for several leading names, and this season the timing adds another layer. Because the tournament is being held a week later, players are also defending results from last year’s WTA 1000 event and from Monterrey and Cleveland, which were staged during the week of 18 August.

For Swiatek, the task is clear. She earned the full 1,000 points last year, but her current form leaves her little margin for error. She sits on 4,539 points in the Live Rankings and remains active at the Canadian Open, where a title would lift her to 5,419 points and ease some of the pressure. If she exits early in Toronto and then also falls quickly in Cincinnati, a place outside the top 10 becomes a real possibility.

Jasmine Paolini will not defend her 650 points because she is sidelined by a knee injury. Elena Rybakina, beaten by Swiatek in last year’s semi-final, has 390 points to protect, although she is holding her sixth-best combined WTA 1000 result since it is higher than Cincinnati. Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff each have 215 points to defend, with Sabalenka still able to shape the battle at the top and Gauff positioned to close in with a strong run.

Linda Noskova is defending 118 points across Cincinnati and Monterrey, Karolina Muchova has 65 points at stake, and Naomi Osaka plus Alex Eala will not lose anything because they did not play last year.