The last big swing of the men's tennis season starts Wednesday in China, and the world No. 1 won't be there. Jannik Sinner pulled out of the Rolex Shanghai Masters with a knee injury, the ATP reported. The tournament runs from Oct. 7 to 18.

Sinner has not played since winning Wimbledon in July. The knee kept him out of the North American hard-court swing, including the U.S. Open, and the Beijing event. "I always enjoy playing in front of the Shanghai fans and I'm very sorry that I won't be able to do so next week," he wrote. He is 44-3 this year and won Shanghai in 2024.

That leaves Alexander Zverev as the top seed. The German, who has won two majors this year, opens against wild card Wu Yibing or a lucky loser. Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, is in the other half, so they can only meet in the final, LiveTennis said. Alcaraz arrives as the Tokyo champion and opens against Juan Manuel Cerundolo or a qualifier. He could face defending champion Valentin Vacherot in the fourth round. Vacherot won last year as a qualifier ranked No. 204, the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion ever.

Novak Djokovic, seeded 10th, won his seventh Beijing title Tuesday when Alex de Minaur retired hurt in the final. He holds the Shanghai record with four titles and opens against Hubert Hurkacz or James Duckworth. Daniil Medvedev, the fifth seed, comes in after being disqualified in his Beijing semifinal and opens against Martin Landaluce or Jan-Lennard Struff.

The 96-player draw gives byes to all 32 seeds, so most stars start later in the week. The winner earns 1,000 ranking points and $1,151,380 from a prize pool of $9,415,725, LiveTennis reported.

There is a lot riding on it. Shanghai is one of the last chances to earn spots at the ATP Finals in Turin. Players ranked fifth through 15th in the race are separated by 1,165 points, the ATP said.

What we know: Sinner is out, and Zverev and Alcaraz top the seeds.
What we don't: Whether de Minaur and Hurkacz are fit after retiring hurt in Beijing.