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Djokovic plans to reach out to Sinner after season-ending injury

Djokovic said he knows how hard a comeback is after a lengthy layoff, but no date has been set for the contact and Sinner's side has not commented.

By Sportsback
Jannik Sinner (cropped)Beireke1 · CC0

Novak Djokovic is reported to be planning to reach out to Jannik Sinner, after an injury ended the season of the top-ranked player. Djokovic said on Thursday that he knows how difficult it is to come back after a lengthy layoff, and that he intends to make contact.

The gesture, as described, is about recovery rather than the injury itself. Djokovic is understood to have spoken in general terms about what a long absence demands of a player, rather than about Sinner's condition, his treatment or any date for a return.

2026
Jannik Sinner, Italy
Jannik SinnerItalySingles
Season 2026Sportsback

What Djokovic has said

Jannik Sinner vs Arthur Rinderknech, 2025 Roland Garros, 2025-05-26Like tears in rain · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jannik Sinner vs Arthur Rinderknech, 2025 Roland Garros, 2025-05-26

The substance of the comments is narrow. Djokovic said he knows how difficult a comeback is after an extended spell away, a point he appears to make from his own experience of the tour rather than as any kind of assessment of Sinner's fitness. He has not said when he will make contact, how he will do it, or what he hopes it will achieve.

Why the contact matters

Jannik Sinner vs Arthur Rinderknech, 2025 Roland Garros, 2025-05-26Like tears in rain · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jannik Sinner vs Arthur Rinderknech, 2025 Roland Garros, 2025-05-26

Sinner's season coming to an early end takes the top-ranked player off the tour for an extended period. An absence of that length shapes the fields at the events he would otherwise have entered and the ranking picture that builds across a season. Those effects belong to the tours and to Sinner's team to set out, and they have not been set out.

The difficulty of a comeback

Players returning from months away describe a challenge separate from the original problem: rebuilding match sharpness, tolerating the workload of long matches again, and accepting that results will lag behind fitness. Djokovic's remarks suggest he regards that phase as the hardest part of a layoff, and one that no ranking or clearance resolves on its own.

A conversation between two leading players changes nothing competitively. Its significance is that a veteran voice is offering it at all, to a player whose season has stopped while he was setting the standard on the tour.

What is not yet known

Sinner's team has not commented on the reported approach. No timetable for his return has been disclosed, and the nature and severity of the injury have not been made public. There is no date for Djokovic's contact, and nothing to indicate that a conversation has already taken place.

What happens next

For now the next step is a conversation, not a comeback. Anything firmer — a rehabilitation schedule, an entry list, a return event — depends on Sinner and those around him, and none of it has been announced.

Until Sinner's side speaks, the reported intention stands as the substantive development: one leading player offering to talk to another about what returning from a long absence actually takes.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Novak Djokovic want to contact Jannik Sinner?
Djokovic has said he understands how difficult it is to come back after a lengthy layoff, and Sinner's season is reported to have ended through injury. The contact is framed around that experience rather than around any assessment of Sinner's fitness.
Has Jannik Sinner's injury ended his season?
That is what has been reported: an injury ended the season of the top-ranked player. No detail of the injury, and no recovery timeline, has been disclosed.
Has Djokovic spoken to Sinner yet?
There is nothing to indicate a conversation has taken place. Djokovic said he plans to reach out, and no date for that contact has been given.
What has Djokovic said about long layoffs?
He said he knows how difficult it is to come back after a lengthy absence, and he appears to be drawing on his own time on the tour rather than commenting on Sinner's medical situation.

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