WATCH: Heartbreaking scenes as Jannik Sinner struggles to walk in extreme pain before retiring from Shanghai Masters 3R

World No. 2 Jannik Sinner was forced to retire from his third-round match in the Shanghai Masters. Despite a solid performance against Tallon Griekspoor, the Dutchman eventually prevailed, 6-7(3), 7-5, 3-2 (RET).

Sinner entered Shanghai after a title-winning run in Beijing last week. He started his campaign with a confident victory over Daniel Altmaeir, but couldn't navigate past Griekspoor in the third round.

The Italian could barely walk up to his chair after struggling with cramps against Griekspoor. Here's a video of him moments before throwing in the towel on the court.

Jannik Sinner was the defending champion in the Shanghai Masters this year. With his early exit on Sunday, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic are now frontrunners to claim the crown.

While the top seed has yet to speak about his injury, Griekspoor shared his condolences after reaching the fourth round. He sympathized with Sinner and highlighted the challenging conditions in Shanghai this year.

“This is definitely not the way you want to win,” Tallon Griekspoor said after the match. “Brutal conditions here in Shanghai all week already. I thought we were a little bit lucky to play in the evening without sun, but two hours and 36 minutes on the clock, middle of the third set… I’m sorry for him, I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Sinner has retired mid-match for the second time this season. He was forced to call it quits during the Cincinnati final in August due to illness, giving Carlos Alcaraz the win.

Novak Djokovic calls Shanghai Masters conditions ‘brutal’ ahead of Jannik Sinner’s injury at the event

Djokovic in action at the 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters - Day 5 - Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic is making his 11th appearance in the Shanghai Masters this year. The Serb outfoxed Yannick Hanfmann to secure a fourth-round berth on Sunday, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Djokovic played his match just a few hours before Jannik Sinner faced Tallon Griekspoor. The 4th seed also criticized the weather conditions, describing them as ‘brutal’ this year.

"It’s the same for every player out on the court, but it’s brutal. It’s brutal when you have over 80 percent of humidity day after day, particularly for the guys when they’re playing during the day with heat, with sun, it’s even more brutal," Novak Djokovic said

Djokovic secured a runner-up finish in the Shanghai Masters last year. He came up short against Jannik Sinner in the final.

The former World No. 1 is a four-time champion at the event. He won the Shanghai Masters most recently in 2018.

Edited by Aman Mohamed