For better or for worse, Saudi Arabia has forcefully entered sports. First he colonized soccer, now he is trying to do the same with tennis. The rain of money coming from the Arab country has already borne fruit, as far as tennis is concerned but, at the same time, it has attracted a rain of criticism. The Arab state has exploited its enormous economic power to organize competitions that shower athletes with gold.
After having obtained the Next Gen Finals, which will be played in Jeddah, the organization of some exhibition matches between the best tennis players on the circuit and the concrete possibility of obtaining an ATP Master 1000, Saudi Arabia will organize a crazy new event in October 2024, the Six Kings Slam.
The announcement of this tournament came from Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi minister of culture, and should be held in October as part of a culture and entertainment event called Riyad Season.
There is no certainty about the compensation reserved for the six participants, but according to The Telegraph, they will pocket around $1.5 million just for their participation, while the winner will pocket $6 million.
Tennis in Saudi Arabia© Alexander Scheuber / Stringer Getty Images Sport
The details about the Six Kings Slam
The announcement of the six-participant mini tournament came in the last few days and there is still little information. What is certain is that the six tennis players invited to participate represent the best of world tennis: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune and Rafael Nadal.
The strongest tennis players on the planet, almost all Slam champions, excluding Rune, are ready to compete in Riyadh and put on a show. There is not yet a certain date for the event, but the useful period should be the one following the US Open, precisely in the month of October.
The Six King Slam could be inserted between the two ATP Master 1000s in Shanghai, scheduled for 2 October, and in Paris Bercy, from the 28th of the same month, thus overshadowing the smaller tournaments scheduled for that period, which are the ATP 500 in Antwerp , Basel and Vienna and the ATP 250s of Almaty and Stockholm, robbing them of the most well-known names.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login