Defending champion Sinner withdraws from Rotterdam Open
Jannik Sinner will not defend his title in Rotterdam following his Australian Open success last week.
Jannik Sinner will not defend his Rotterdam Open title after pulling out of this year's tournament.
The 23-year-old, who beat Alex de Minaur to win in Rotterdam last year, has opted out of the event to give himself "time to rest".
Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the Australian Open final on Sunday to successfully defend his crown and clinch a third grand slam title.
In the process, he became just the fifth man to win three straight hard-court slams in the Open Era, after John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and the youngest to do so since the Australian Open moved to hard court in 1988 (23 years, 163 days).
However, with the Rotterdam Open being moved forward a week – this year it starts on February 1 – it has come too soon for Sinner.
blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Jannik Sinner is unfortunately unable to defend his title. Read the full statement here: https://t.co/4cC5t26lcC Get well soon Jannik!#Sinner #ABNAMROOpen
— ABN AMRO Open (@abnamroopen) January 27, 2025"After consulting with my team, we had to take the difficult decision to withdraw from the ABN AMRO Open," Sinner said in a statement.
"My body needs time to rest after the long run in Australia. I have great memories from winning the title in front of amazing crowds at Rotterdam Ahoy last year and hope to be back there soon.
"I wish Richard [Krajicek, tournament director] and the whole team a great event."
Following Sinner's withdrawal, Carlos Alcaraz will now be the top seed at the event which starts on Saturday.