The doubts over Jannik Sinner’s comeback day are continuing to circulate, but it seems the world No 1 is preparing to make a comeback after his name was included in the draw for the upcoming Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.
Sinner has claimed a staggering $12 million after winning the three-day tournament over the last couple of years and as the world No 1, there was never any question that he would be on the guest list this year.
However, the Italian has not played a match since winning the Wimbledon title in July, with his knee injury pushing him onto the sidelines over the last few weeks.
Sinner confirmed he was not ready to return for this week’s China Open and there are doubts over whether he will fly to Shanghai to play in the ATP 1000 event that gets underway next week.
Yet it looks like he is still planning to play in the Six Kings Slam, after he was drawn to play against Alex de Minaur in his opening match.
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A win in that match would set up a showdown with Novak Djokovic and a potential final against Carlos Alcaraz.
With Sinner still clearly wary of his knee problem, playing in an exhibition event would not seem like a good idea, but the money on offer is hard to resist.
Even if the Italian played just two sets and lost against De Minaur, he would still pick up $1.5 million for turning up at an event that also demands plenty of media interviews and attending events for the sponsors.
Some players have competed in this event over the last couple of years and lost in double quick time, with Daniil Medvedev winning just three games as he collected his $1.5 million appearance fee in 2024 and Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas also cashing in after losing in straight sets last year.
Sinner has won huge amounts of money on court and also has a host of lucrative sponsorship deals that boost his annual income, so he may not need to claim even more money by playing in Saudi Arabia again.
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An alternative take on this may be that the Six Kings Slam is the perfect stage for him to make a return to action in an event that doesn’t come with ranking points.
Of course, Sinner could end the debate over his fitness by competing at the Shanghai Masters, with Sky Sports in Italy suggesting earlier this week that the prospects of a return for the reigning Wimbledon champion in China have improved.
That could see Sinner and Alcaraz compete in the same tournament for the first time since their one and only meeting of 2026 in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters.
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