Jannik Sinner set to make debut at ATP 500 event after Australian Open
Jannik Sinner is set to skip the European Indoor swing for the Middle Eastern hard courts after his first event as Italian media has reported his first post-Australian Open tournament.
The four-time Grand Slam winner has signed up for the Qatar Open, as per Sky Sports Italia, with the world No 2 set to make his debut at the ATP 500 event in February.
Sinner has played in Europe after the season-opening Grand Slam in recent years as he won the Rotterdam Open in 2024 and was due to return in 2025, but he, of course, didn’t play any tournaments after last year’s successful defence of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park due to his three-month ban.
The Italian signed up for last year’s event in the Netherlands, but his suspension following his two failed drug tests for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024 started on February 9. In previous years, Sinner also entered the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, France, although he twice pulled out before the draw was made.
But it looks like he will give the European events a complete miss in 2026 as Sky Sports Italia has revealed he will fly directly to Qatar after the season-opening Grand Slam with the hard-court event running from February 16-21.
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Although the ABN Ambro Open (Rotterdam) takes place from February 9-15, organisers have so far confirmed four top-10 players and Sinner’s name remains absent with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz along with Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur in the main draw.
The Qatar Open will be Sinner’s second official tournament of the 2026 season after the Australian Open as he has opted not to sign up for any warm-up events ahead of the hard-court Grand Slam.
Instead, he will play a couple of exhibition events with the first in Seoul, South Korea, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz in a one-off match on January 10 before flying to Australia.
Sinner will then take part in the Million Dollar 1 Point Slam along with the likes of Alcaraz, Nick Kyrgios, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff before another one-off exhibition match against Auger-Aliassime in Melbourne.
The Australian Open then runs from January 18 to February 1 after which the 24-year-old will travel to Doha.
Although he will make his debut at the Qatar event, it won’t be his first tournament in the Middle East as he previously played in the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2021 and 2022.
