Jannik Sinner experienced unique form of treatment as latest update outlines US Open progress

Jannik Sinner will soon be finally making the long-awaited trip to North America following weeks of wait and rumours swirling around. His knee has been troubling him following his latest Wimbledon triumph with fresh reports coming out of Italy updating the condition of the World No.1.

It has been a busy but remarkable year for Sinner, who turns 25 today. After a slightly sluggish start by his own standards, five consecutive Masters 1000 titles were won in what was an incredible feat, breaking numerous records along the way. He would collapse dramatically at Roland Garros in the second round before bouncing back at Wimbledon to defend his title against Alexander Zverev.

All of this tennis has left Sinner in a somewhat fragile condition. His body has been recently struggling after the workload pumped through it in that clay swing which followed all the matches played and won in the Sunshine swing.

Tennis is an extremely physically demanding sport, leaving players susceptible to injury or fatigue. This ravaged his French Open aspirations along with the tortuous Paris heat. He bounced back in tremendous fashion at SW19 before having a few weeks rest before he was initially set to continue his Masters 1000 dominance.

However, in a somewhat predictable action he decided not to make the trip to Montreal to compete in the Canadian Open, prioritising the Cincinnati Open ahead of the US Open. However, as the tournament prolongs in Ohio, there is no sign of the 2024 champion. Instead, he had been hopping around Italian medical centres assessing the damage on his knee. This forced him to pull out of the Cincinnati Open with all eyes on his next move ahead of the US Open.

Fans have been patiently waiting for any form of update on Sinner. There have been numerous news reports coming from Sinner's home country with the latest published by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport from journalist Richard Crivelli.

He wrote the following: “The world No 1 remained until yesterday at JMedical in Turin, one of his primary clinical facilities, to complete shockwave therapy on the inflamed area."

He now has a chance to celebrate his birthday with his loved ones before finally making the long anticipated trip to North America. “Now, he has a couple of days in Monte Carlo to celebrate his 25th birthday with his family, then between Monday and Tuesday, he’ll be packing his bags for New York. At that point, Jannik will have a dozen days of training [before the US Open].”

This is less than ideal preparation for the US Open. This is the first time that Sinner has not competed in either of the Canadian Open or Cincinnati Open for the first time since 2020, when one of them was not held and he failed to qualify for the other one.

He followed the trend of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic last year at the Canadian Open in skipping it ahead of losing to his Spanish rival in an abruptly halted Cincinnati Open final, in which Sinner was felling under the weather. He then was outclassed by Alcaraz in the final of the US Open, relinquishing the World No.1 spot and losing his US Open crown.

Set for his eighth appearance at Flushing Meadows, Sinner is the overwhelming favourite. With Alcaraz having not played since April and still not confirmed to be participating, Djokovic falling early in Cincinnati and Zverev having not defeated him in their last 10 appearances, his biggest rivals are all hampered one way of another.

It all depends on how fit and healthy Sinner is and if he is able to produce the goods to win Grand Slam number six and a second in New York. The tournament will commence from August 30.