World No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdraws from Paris Masters following Six Kings Slam victory

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner announced on Tuesday that he is forced to withdraw from the Rolex Paris Masters, the final ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the 2024 season, citing a lingering illness.

“I’m very disappointed to tell you that I’m not able to play here at this tournament,” the would-be top seed revealed in a video posted to the tournament’s official social media. “I came very early here to prepare and felt sick. I’m having a virus at the moment, which is going to pass in the next two-three days. So, body-wise, I’m not ready to compete.

“I’m very, very sorry for that, but I’ll see you guys all next year. Hopefully, it’ll also be a great year without me.”

Winner of this year's Australian Open and US Open, Sinner is coming off a busy fall swing that includes a runner-up finish at the China Open, a win at the Rolex Shanghai Masters over Novak Djokovic, and an extremely lucrative appearance at the inaugural Six Kings Slam exhibition. The 23-year-old Italian took home over six million dollars (USD) in both appearance and prize money for winning the six-man event in Riyadh, and ignited discussion from a subsequent interview during which he claimed he doesn’t “play for money.”

"Of course, it's a nice prize and everything,” Sinner explained, “but for me, I went there because there were possibly the six best players in the world. And then you can measure yourself with them.

“It was also a nice event for me. It was the first time I went to Riyadh and it was nice. When you come back as a winner, for me, it was more that, ‘Okay, I played the matches in the right way and this hopefully can improve me as a player also for the future.’”

Sinner, who has already clinched a berth at the ATP Finals in Turin, was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Arthur Cazaux. The 22-year-old Frenchman was extra lucky to inherit the two-time major champ’s first-round bye, and will open against either compatriot Corentin Moutet or American Ben Shelton, who reached the finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel last week.