Jannik Sinner plans late-December return at Saudi exhibition ahead of Australian Open

MILAN (AP) — Jannik Sinner plans to return from injury at an exhibition event at the end of December as part of his preparations for the Australian Open.

Sinner has not played since July when he beat Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final . He withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a right knee injury.

Ongoing problems with the knee delayed the 25-year-old's return and he announced last month his season was over .

Last week, Zverev took over the No. 1 ranking that Sinner 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 at a sponsor event in Milan on Tuesday. “But I have to respect the protocols at the moment because if we rush things we could have more serious problems.

“I also only have that information, that I have to work hard every day for that objective and then we’ll see.”

One of those tournaments is the Six Kings Slam , an exhibition in Saudi Arabia that was postponed until late December because of the conflict in the Middle East.

“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.

“But I think if we want to prepare for Australia (and) I’m not playing since Wimbledon, some matches before might be very helpful.”

The Six Kings Slam awards money but no ATP ranking points. Sinner won the second edition of the tournament last year.

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