MASON, OHIO – AUGUST 09: Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts after winning a game during the match against Daniel Elahi Galán of Colombia during Day 3 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 09, 2025 in Mason, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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The latest chapter of the Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry took a stunning turn on Monday when world No. 1 Sinner retired in the first set of the Cincinnati Open final due to an unspecified health issue.
Sinner threw in the towel down 5-0 to No. 2 Alcaraz in the final after he clearly was not right to start the match. Alcaraz won his 22nd ATP title and sixth this year.
“I’m super, super sorry to disappoint you,” Sinner told the fans at the trophy presentation. “From yesterday I didn’t feel great. I thought that I would improve during the night but it came up worse. So I tried to come out, trying to make it at least a small match but I couldn’t handle more, so I’m very, very sorry for all of you.”
It was the sixth career retirement for Sinner, the reigning U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion.
“It’s just shocking, really shocking,” Jim Courier said on Tennis Channel. “We’ll find out eventually, once Jannik does speak to the press, about what the root cause is because he’s been able to play through these conditions [in the heat]
all the way up through the final.”
Courier added: “It’s a tough one…The effects of whatever are hitting Jannik Sinner [were] just too great for him to overcome today, which is such a shame for everyone.”
Sinner looked fine on Saturday when he dominated Frenchman Terence Atmane, 7-6(4), 6-2, in the semifinals.
Alcaraz now leads the head-to-head with Sinner 9-5 and has won six of the last seven matchups.
“This is not the way that I want to win matches, to win trophies,” Alcaraz said. “I got to say, sorry, and I understand how you can feel right now. You are truly a champion and I’m pretty sure that from this situation you’re going to come back even stronger. You always do and that’s what really true champions does, so sorry and come back stronger.”
Sinner had beaten Alcaraz in four sets in the Wimbledon final after Alcaraz came from two sets down to beat the Italian in the Roland Garros final.
The two men have combined to win the last seven major titles and are the favorites to win an eighth next month at the U.S. Open.
Both men are scheduled to play Mixed Doubles at the Open beginning Tuesday, but it doesn’t look good for Sinner at this point.
Sinner was originally slated to play with American Emma Navarro before she opted to play a singles event in Monterrey, Mexico instead. Sinner then paired up with Kateřina Siniaková
“She’s going to need a replacement [partner] and that’s a real shame for her,” Courier said.
“Sinner should have time to recover before his first singles match at the U.S. Open. That could come as early as Sunday.”