Sinner Retires from Masters of Paris After Late-Night Match and Quick Turnaround

Tennis

Sinner withdraws from the Paris Masters after finishing a match at dawn and having the next one in the afternoon

• The Italian tennis player alleges “fatigue” to abandon the tournament before his round of 16 duel
• The world number 4 started his match the day before almost midnight

The Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner has made the decision to withdraw from the Paris Masters 1000 tournament. He was scheduled to play in the round of 16 on Thursday, but after finishing his previous match in the early hours of the morning, he had only 15 hours of rest before the next one.

Ranked number 4 in the ATP ranking, Sinner cited “fatigue” as the reason for not participating in the duel against Australian player Alex de Minaur, who was scheduled for the third match on center court.

Sinner, 22, was considered one of the top contenders for the tournament title due to his recent success. He has won titles in Beijing and Vienna and has only suffered one defeat since the US Open, with 13 victories, according to reports from Efe.

However, his second round match against American player Mackenzie McDonald started late on Wednesday, almost at midnight, and lasted for two and a half hours. This tight schedule seems to have taken a toll on Sinner, who had to return to the court just 15 hours later, as mentioned by the agency.

On Wednesday, Sinner himself expressed his frustration with the organizers and threatened not to play the match. He was unhappy with the unusual scheduling imposed on him, as reported by Efe.

As a result of Sinner’s withdrawal, Alex de Minaur will now advance to the quarterfinals where he will face Russian player Andrey Rublev. Interestingly, De Minaur had previously benefited from a similar situation in 2018 when British player Andy Murray withdrew from a match due to a late finish, allowing De Minaur to progress to the quarterfinals, as mentioned by the source.

In recent times, several tennis tournaments, including the Mutua Madrid Open and the new Davis Cup, have faced controversies regarding their scheduling practices.