Sinner and Fonseca headline eight withdrawals from Shanghai Masters

Jannik Sinner will miss the Shanghai Masters, with the world No 1 confirming over the weekend that a knee injury will keep him out of the tournament, according to Tennis365.

The Italian, who won the title in 2024, has not featured on tour since beating Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final on 12 July.

Sinner posted a message explaining his absence: "Unfortunately, I won't be able to play at the Rolex Shanghai Masters this year as I had hoped." He added: "I always enjoy playing in front of the Shanghai fans and I'm very sorry that I won't be able to do so next week."

A replacement for Sinner's place in the draw has not yet been confirmed, Tennis365 reports.

Sinner is the eighth man to withdraw from this year's event, joining Brazilian Joao Fonseca, who would have been seeded in Shanghai before injury problems forced him out of the Asian swing entirely.

Fonseca explained his decision in a statement, saying 2026 had been "a very challenging year" marked by a series of injuries that disrupted his season. He said he had pushed himself to play in the Davis Cup for Brazil but needed more time to recover, adding: "I talked a lot with my team, and we came to the conclusion that the best decision right now is to listen to my body."

Fonseca's spot in the draw passes to Zachary Svajda.

The other six withdrawals span the lower reaches of the seeding list. Arthur Rinderknech is replaced by Tomas Machac, Raphael Collignon by Marcos Giron, and Roman Andres Burruchaga by Facundo Diaz Acosta.

Ethan Quinn's withdrawal opens a spot for Marin Cilic, while Corentin Moutet is replaced by Marco Trungelliti and Sebastian Korda by Hamad Medjedovic.

The Shanghai Masters is the last and largest event of the ATP Tour's Asian swing, running from 7 to 18 October at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. This year marks the 15th edition of the tournament, staged on outdoor hard courts.

Valentin Vacherot arrives as defending champion after winning last year's title as a 204th-ranked qualifier.

The main draw begins once concurrent 500-level events in Beijing and Tokyo conclude on Tuesday 6 October, with attention now turning to how the depleted top end of the Shanghai field shapes up without two of its leading names.