Key Takeaways
- World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will defend his Erste Bank Open crown in Vienna from 24 October to 1 November.
- A victory would secure Sinner’s third Vienna title, placing him second only to Brian Gottfried’s tournament record of four.
- Sinner has been sidelined with a right knee injury since winning Wimbledon in July, after capturing six titles earlier in 2026.
World number one targets historic third Erste Bank Open crown
Jannik Sinner will return to the Erste Bank Open in October as the defending champion, the tournament officially announced on Monday. The Italian star, who currently sits at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will be aiming to complete a title hat-trick at the indoor ATP 500 event held at the Wiener Stadthalle.
Sinner lifted the trophy in the Austrian capital in both 2023 and 2025. A third victory this autumn would make him only the second player in tournament history to claim three Vienna crowns, trailing only Brian Gottfried, who captured four titles during his career.
Injury comeback and dominant 2026 campaign
The 25-year-old has not played competitive tennis since successfully defending his Wimbledon title in July. A right knee injury subsequently forced him to sit out the US Open. Despite the recent layoff, Sinner has put together a dominant 2026 season, collecting six tour-level titles after sweeping the first five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments of the year prior to his triumph at SW19.
According to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Sinner boasts a 17-4 career record in Vienna. The indoor hard-court event is scheduled to stage its main-draw matches from 24 October to 1 November.
Vienna stats leaders and star-studded field
Sinner will face stiff opposition during his Austrian title defense. Former Vienna champions Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have all been confirmed for the competition.
The current ATP stats leaderboard showcases several top contenders who are making an impact across the tour this season:
| Rank | Player | Stat score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 305.3 |
| 2 | Ben Shelton | 299.4 |
| 3 | Alexander Zverev | 299.3 |
| 4 | Taylor Fritz | 298.9 |
| 5 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | 297.0 |
Jannik Sinner in 2026
Now the world no.1, Sinner played his last match on the 12th of July when he defeated world no.2 Alexander Zverev 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4 in the final in Wimbledon to win his 31st career title.
Until now, during this year Jannik achieved an overall 44-3 record. The Italian clinched 6 titles in 2026 in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome and Wimbledon.
