Sinner on Rome withdrawal: 'It's a tough one to swallow'

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After Jannik Sinner announced his withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Saturday, the Italian star visited the Foro Italico and explained how difficult his decision was.

"It's a tough call for me to not play here but I have to take care of my body firstly. It’s one of if not the most special tournament,” Sinner said Sunday at a press conference in Rome. “It’s a tough one to swallow, but I'm happy that there are so many other Italians playing, a big amount of players and they will have a great support. I'll be rooting for them from the television and I wish them all the best.”

The 22-year-old reached the quarter-finals in Madrid and was scheduled to play Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the last four before he withdrew due to a hip injury. While he did not reveal any specifics about the injury, he provided insight into the pain he felt.

"I felt more pain some days while in others things went better,” Sinner explained during the Italian portion of his press conference. “Facing Kotov I felt it a bit more. The day before playing Khachanov, I felt better. However, I knew something was wrong.”

The day after Sinner defeated Khachanov in three sets, he took an MRI and the medical team saw “there was something not 100 per cent right”. That prompted his withdrawal.

"I went back to Monte-Carlo, we did some more tests, which made me take this hard decision because I have to skip the most special tournament of the year for me,” Sinner said. “I have to accept it even if it hurts me and many fans. We realised something is not totally good. If it is not 100 per cent healed, I'll stay out a little longer. Caring for the body is much more important than everything else.”

Sinner dominated the first quarter of the season, lifting trophies at the Australian Open, Rotterdam and Miami to take a big lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Italian owns a 28-2 record in 2024.

“I’ll just try to get back to 100 per cent as soon as possible, hopefully trying to play in Paris and then Wimbledon and all the rest,” Sinner said. “We'll take our time, there's no rush and hopefully I can get back very, very soon.”