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At a time of the season when the annual debate rages over what to do about an overcrowded and unreliable tennis calendar, it seems there’s always room for a little more competition when that $6 million check comes in for the champion. carlos alcaraz, novak djokovic And Janic Sinner She is among the players included in the Six Kings Slam returning to Saudi Arabia for its second year, with the three-day exhibition in Riyadh offering the winner more than the $1 million Alcaraz received for winning last month’s US Open, the largest prize money in Grand Slam history.
The Six Kings Slam achieved what every other tournament on the ATP Tour could not and brought Alcaraz, Djokovic and Sinner into the same draw for the first time outside a Grand Slam this season. There are many reasons for this, of course, Sinner’s three-month doping ban, Djokovic’s selective schedule and some injury withdrawals from Alcaraz, but hats off to his match-making skills. turkish alalsikhBecause when it comes to the Riyadh season the stars have once again managed to align themselves.
With a reported $1.5 million guaranteed and an additional $4.5 million guaranteed for winning the title, there are six million reasons why Alcaraz, Djokovic and Sinner join Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in accepting an invitation from the Saudi kingdom, which has been criticized over its human rights record. But money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund already flows through the ATP Tour, just as the country has invested billions in football, boxing, F1 and golf as part of a strategic plan to diversify its economy. Saudi Arabia will also host the WTA Finals for the second time next month, followed by the ATP Next Gen Finals. The Six Kings Slam may feel like a stepping stone for the Gulf to host its own ATP Masters event.
Until then, the stakeholders involved in the Six Kings Slams will alter the optics to project whatever image they want (the tournament literally does this with World No. 1 Alcaraz advancing Djokovic to the semi-finals, seemingly because he is the player with the most Grand Slam titles). Even the name of the exhibition is just a word. This is not a slam. There are actually six players, but one of the ‘kings’ is the ghost of Tsitsipas, who is ranked 24th in the world with a 55 percent win rate on the ATP Tour this season.
But none of that matters. For now, Saudi Arabia has got its share of men’s tennis, with potentially the juicy main course of another final between Alcaraz and Sinner following a similar semi-final line-up to last month’s US Open. The invited players are happy, content to put aside complaints about the grueling schedule for a guaranteed fee that requires only a few days’ work, unlike the never-ending 12-day, two-week Masters events that tours are so keen on. Netflix is also working on its latest move into broadcasting live sports. Prepare for some dramatic montages that will show you just how important this all is.
There will be some good matches in a high-quality field, even if they don’t rely on official head-to-head records. However, in terms of emotions, there will never be anything that rivals the story of Valentin Vacherot’s Shanghai Masters run and victory over his cousin Arthur RinderknechtIt was a victory for the hundreds of players who chase their dreams week after week at the lower echelons of the tour.
This is why ATP does not like these types of exhibitions. They only benefit the players at the top, who are already making the money from the biggest sponsorships and commercial deals. They do nothing to help those struggling to build careers on the tour, which is essential to a healthy ecosystem and competition. But the argument given by the players, and recently explained by Djokovic, is that they are also individual athletes. Sometimes, they need to make the best decision for themselves. And despite Djokovic and Papi struggling physically in shanghaiand Alcaraz ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury, all three are set to appear in Riyadh, receiving their huge bouquets of flowers upon arrival.
After all, especially in Riyadh, the exhibition is an easy payday. Alcaraz has already resolved himself from the apparent contradiction of criticizing the tennis calendar while signing up for numerous exhibition tournaments throughout the year by explaining that he treats them differently from regular events. Oh, it’s an exhibition. According to his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, always being a showman, his penchant for risk-taking shots, the atmosphere of exhibitions and the focus on entertainment can help Alcaraz relax. Alcaraz, who just last month agreed with Iga Swiatek’s assessment that the season was good “Too long and too intense”Will returns from an ankle injury before turning his attention to the Paris Masters and ATP Finals – two events on the short list of elite tournaments he has not won at the age of 22.
Alcaraz skipped the intense heat and humidity of Shanghai due to his injury, a decision that seemed wise as the top players played hard in the conditions, but he would lose 75 percent of his share in the ATP’s bonus pool after missing his third mandatory event of the season. As Alcaraz looks set to reach the top at the end of the year, his bonus will be worth millions of dollars – but his check from the Six Kings Slam exhibition could completely cover it. In fact, it provides a way for certain categories of stars to avoid some of the mandatory commitments that many other players on the tour complain about. And it also highlights a clear truth about what the top players want from their events outside the four major Grand Slam tournaments: more money, fewer matches. It’s all clearly there.