A knee injury ended Jannik Sinner’s 2026 season in October. It was certain that the Italian would not play another match this season, but a scheduling change has now allowed him to play one more event before he celebrates the New Year. The two-time defending champion is returning to the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh. 

“Star Jannik Sinner returns and participates in the world tennis championship Six Kings Slam,” Saudi entertainment chief Turki Alalshikh announced on X on Monday. Later, Sinner himself reposted it on his story, confirming his participation on his behalf. 

The exhibition event was moved from October 21 to 24 to December 27 to 30 because of security concerns in the region, with The National reporting attacks on Riyadh’s airports. It’s a lucrative three-day event where players earn £1.2 million just for showing up and an extra £3.5 million for winning. Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur are already signed up, and American Learner Tien, who was named as Sinner’s replacement, will drop out. 

This will be his first appearance after winning the Wimbledon final against Alexander Zverev, after being a set down to win his fifth Grand Slam and second Wimbledon. He missed the US Open, where Zverev captured his second major of the year, and on October 6 he announced that he needed treatment on his knee and that his 2026 season was over. His message ended on a hopeful note, saying he hoped to see fans “very, very soon on the court.” 

The Six Kings Slam would be the first time he does that, and it would come only weeks before the Australian Open in January. It is not an official ATP event, so the result would not count toward rankings. Hence, Alexander Zverev will still end as the year-end world No. 1, surpassing Sinner on November 2 – provided that he reaches the quarterfinal of the Vienna Open. 

The Italian won the inaugural Six Kings Slam in October 2024. He beat Alcaraz in the final 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, while Djokovic took the third-place match against Rafael Nadal. The champion received $6 million, the largest prize in tennis at the time.

A year later, Sinner defended the title in even more commanding fashion, only a month after losing the US Open final to Alcaraz. He beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round, Djokovic in the semifinals, and Alcaraz again in the final, 6-2, 6-4, in a little over 70 minutes. He went unbroken against Alcaraz and took home another $6 million, half of what he had earned on the regular tour that season. 

The Spaniard, who had beaten him in the French Open and US Open finals that year, said afterward that Sinner gives him motivation. The result set up the prospect of another “Sincaraz” meeting this December.

Alcaraz and Sinner have only met once this year at the Monte Carlo Finals, where the Italian dismissed Alcaraz in straight sets. After that, the seven-time Grand Slam champion picked up a wrist injury in Barcelona and was away from the tour for almost four months. When he returned, his arch rival picked up a knee injury, and hence the two never met on-court after that. 

Unlike in 2025, the duo met six times, all of them in tournament finals, which the Spaniard led 4-2. Before entering next year, fans can have a taste of that at the Six Kings Slam. The event streams live on Netflix at no extra cost to subscribers, so a global audience would be watching.

Sinner will come back with a new face in the team

Jannik Sinner will have a fresh voice in his corner on return. The Times reported on Monday that he has chosen Magnus Norman, the Swedish coach who guided Stan Wawrinka to three Grand Slam titles, to join his team from December. Norman would work alongside Simone Vagnozzi as Darren Cahill prepares to step away after four and a half years with the Italian. 

Norman, a former world No. 2 who has been a 2000 French Open finalist, was named ATP coach of the year in 2016 and also coached Robin Soderling to the 2009 and 2010 French Open finals. He is with Wawrinka for his final tournament in Basel this week, where the Swiss will end his 24-year-long career. 

The timing suits both entities well, as Norman will be free of Wawrinka duties and Cahill, 61-year-old, who build Italian’s career was considering retiring for sometime can now finally rest with Sinner being in good hands. There was a lot of speculation before this announcement about whether Carlos Alcaraz’s former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero would take that spot, but that rumor can be put to bed now. 

Wawrinka’s farewell exhibition takes place in Geneva on December 19, about a week before the Six Kings Slam begins. Sinner would have already lost his world No. 1 spot to the German, and it will be useful to test against the best players early before the start of a new season. Will he be able to find his best level against players like Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Zverev after being months away from the tour?