Novak Djokovic retired from Roland Garros and Jannik Sinner will be No. 1 in the world

Jannik Sinner came to Roland Garros with the possibility of being number one in the world and succeeded due to the retirement of Novak Djokovic due to a knee injury. In this way, the Italian became the 29th player to achieve the leadership of the ranking and is the first in his country.

Sinner, champion this year at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, had the mathematical option of reaching No. 1 regardless of the situation of Djokovic, who was defending the title won last year while the second in the ranking had barely reached the second round. The injury anticipated everything.

“Every player wants to reach number one in the world, but with Novak’s retirement it’s different, I wish him a speedy recovery. I had been trying, and we have worked for it with my team. It’s a special moment for me, for my team, for Italy, I’m proud,” said the 22-year-old tennis player, who learned the news after getting into the Roland Garros semifinals by defeating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4 and 7-6 (3).

Sinner was born on August 16, 2001 in San Candido, Bolzano, and ended up leaning towards tennis after playing soccer and skiing. At 16, he began playing professional tournaments and in 2019 he was recognized as the breakthrough of the year after reaching his first ATP semifinal and winning the Next Generation ATP Finals.

In 2020, the Italian won the first of his 13 titles by winning in Sofia and won his first Masters 1000 in Toronto, in 2023, a defining year that ended with the title in the Davis Cup and the final in the ATP World Tour Finals, which he lost to Djokovic. At the beginning of 2024, his first Grand Slam arrived and, now, the dream was fulfilled to be number one in the world.

“I am very sad to announce that I have to retire from Roland Garros. I played with all my heart and gave everything in yesterday’s game,” Djokovic explained on his social media and confirmed that in the win against Argentinian Francisco Cerúndolo he suffered “a medial tear of the meniscus of his right knee”.

“It’s a difficult decision made after careful consideration and analysis,” acknowledged Djokovic, who will break the record of 428 weeks as number one. Now, the Serbian will aim to recover for the next two major commitments to come: Wimbledon and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

On the grass of the Cathedral and the Parisian clay will also be Sinner, who joins the select group that comprised only Russian Daniil Medvedev (2022) and the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (2023) as the tennis players who managed to reach number in the world after the dominance of the Big 3 formed by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

“A special day for me, my first Roland Garros semifinal and reaching the number 1 ranking in the world. Grateful for this moment, something we have worked very hard for, but the work doesn’t end here. Go!!!” , wrote Sinner, who from Monday will officially be the leader of the circuit.