Jannik Sinner is gearing up for his first match since winning the Wimbledon final last month, having returned to Cincinnati as the reigning champion.
It was around this time last year that the Italian really kickstarted his relentless rampage, winning match after match and mopping up almost every title available.
He stormed to the trophy at this event, before winning his maiden US Open the following month.
If he can replicate that form, Jannik Sinner will feel delighted with his year, even if it would have left him three Championship points away from completing the calendar slam.
Regardless, 2025 has been remarkable for the world number one, even despite his three-month ban.
Jannik Sinner qualifies for the ATP end-of-year finals
Given his form and his penchant for claiming the sport’s biggest trophies, it should come as no surprise that Sinner has now officially secured his spot at the ATP Finals at the end of the season.
Last year, he won the entire event, and will be the overwhelming favourite to do the same again this year in his home country.
Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images
However, what makes this qualification so special is the fact that he has done it with such ease during a year when he was banned from the sport.
Sinner has qualified for the sport’s premier end-of-year showcase event, having played just five tournaments.
He won the Australian Open, served his suspension, lost the finals in Italy and Paris, exited early in Halle and then won Wimbledon.
An incredible feat from a generational talent, which proves why he is that much better than everyone else on the ATP Tour.
Almost every other player within the top-ten on the Race to Turin has played over double the amount of events as him. Taylor Fritz will play his 16th in Cincinnati. Alcaraz his 13th. Shelton his 18th. Zverev his 17th.
The key rivalry in the men’s game may be Alcaraz and Sinner, but this surely proves just how far ahead the latter is even from him at the moment. Wherever he plays, he is the favourite to win it all.
When is Jannik Sinner’s next match?
Sinner will begin his Cincinnati Open title defence later today, having been drawn against Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán in the Round of 64.
As a seeded player, and the top seed at that, he naturally earned a bye into the second round.
Should he win that, as expected, a clash with Gabriel Diallo will likely await, before matches against Tommy Paul, Lorenzo Musetti and Casper Ruud could all occur.
Fortunately, these are all players who have battled form and fitness concerns over the summer.
The only real threat for Sinner would come in the semi-finals, where the fourth seed Taylor Fritz would be expected to reach, before Carlos Alcaraz should await in the final.
Sinner has voiced his opinion on the new format of the Cincinnati Open, of which we will begin to see the true effects of in the coming days.