Jannik Sinner targets late-December Saudi exhibition as build-up to Australian Open
Jannik Sinner said on Tuesday at a sponsor event in Milan that he plans to return from a right-knee injury at a late-December exhibition in Saudi Arabia as preparation for the Australian Open. The 25-year-old has not played since July, when he beat Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final, and withdrew from the U.S. Open because of the knee problem.
Ongoing issues with the knee delayed Sinner’s comeback and he announced last month that his season was over. Last week Alexander Zverev took over the world No. 1 ranking that Sinner had held for 95 weeks. “The aim is to go to Australia, the aim is also maybe to do a couple of tournaments first,” Sinner said. “But I have to respect the protocols at the moment because if we rush things we could have more serious problems.
One event Sinner named as a possible stepping stone is the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition in Saudi Arabia that was postponed until late December because of the conflict in the Middle East. The Six Kings Slam awards money but no ATP ranking points; Sinner won the second edition of the tournament last year. “That (is the target) but we all know the situation what’s there at the moment, which is not the best, so this is not our decision as players, this is a more general decision,” Sinner told The Associated Press.
Sinner described the layoff as the longest of his career and said it has been difficult because he misses competing. “They haven’t been easy months, or rather they are not easy months, simply because I miss the competition, I miss going out onto the court, I really miss the thing I love doing: Playing tennis,” Sinner said. “But in this very important moment taking care of my body is of the utmost importance, because I want to keep playing for another 10 or 15 years. So, if I end up returning to the court a month later, it doesn’t really change anything from that perspective.”
He said the absence has altered his perspective on his achievements and his hunger to win. “Before, it almost felt like the most normal thing in the world: You have a tournament, you win it, then you have another, you win it,” the Italian said. “Now, however, I’ve come to truly appreciate what I’ve managed to achieve. At the same time, my desire to win is even stronger, the urge to lift a major trophy — it’s the most wonderful feeling and the very thing we work so hard for. Previously, I took it all for granted, as if it were just the natural order of things; I hope to experience those emotions again .. and maybe I will enjoy everything even more.”
Describing how he has spent his time away from the tour, Sinner said his days have revolved around physical work and motorsport simulation. “No unfortunately, this current period is really difficult because I’m at home, spending practically the entire day — every day — on a racing simulator,” he said. “And then I head to the gym. When I get back, I jump straight back onto the simulator. I’ve always said that, in the future, you might see me behind the wheel of a race car. I want to get back on the court. It’s the first time I don’t have control, it’s strange and I don’t like it.”
Sinner has also made a coaching change during his absence: Darren Cahill will leave and Magnus Norman has been hired to join his coaching team starting next month, working alongside Simone Vagnozzi. “Magnus is someone very similar to Darren, though, of course, everyone is different,” Sinner said. “He’s the type of person who accepts the way we’re already working. That’s important because it’s crucial not to change everything all over again, but rather to focus on that 1% improvement each year to keep growing as a player. What I’ll miss most about Darren is definitely the personal part. We hit it off right from the start, and over time he became almost like a second father to me … whenever I faced difficult moments he was always one of the first people I would call.”
Cahill joined Sinner’s team in June 2022 and oversaw the Italian win five Grand Slam titles and achieve the No. 1 ranking; he had originally planned to step away after the 2025 season. Cahill noted he wrote on social media in 2013 that Norman improves every single player he coaches and said: “It’s really important that they have some clean air … So, no, I’m not going to be lurking next to Jannik over this coming period. It’s really important that I show the respect to Magnus as well, and that he can come in and form his relationship with this team and create his own memories. I wasn’t part of the due diligence that Jannik had in choosing the next coach. That was all him. He chose Magnus, but when he told me that was his choice I gave him a big thumbs up. I could not be more happy for him.”
Sinner’s immediate plan, as he described it, is to use match practice before the Australian Open if protocols and the regional situation allow, with the late-December Six Kings Slam as a target and Magnus Norman due to join his team next month.
