Everything that Jannik Sinner means to the summit of men's tennis could be temporarily wiped away in just a few months.

After his magnificent triumph at the 2025 Australian Open, Jannik Sinner had anticipated to the media that he would need some time to recover his energy before returning to action. Those words had cast strong doubt on his participation in the Rotterdam ATP 500,

And just as Djokovic had a couple of hurdles by the names of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to deal with, Sinner is not alone among the newest generation of tennis stars. His top rival at this point is Carlos Alcaraz, who has four Slam victories at age 21 — and won all three matches he played against Sinner in 2024.