Saudi Arabia is set to stage a new men’s exhibition event featuring five Grand Slam champions during what will be a packed month on the ATP Tour.
The Six Kings Slam is set to take place in October with participants including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and recently crowned Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner. it will be held in the city of Riyadh but the date, venue and format of the event are yet to be announced. Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune are also set to take part in the event which will likely be awarding thousands or millions in prize money.
“I am excited to return to Riyadh and play in front of all my Saudi fans”. Djokovic said in a press release.
It has been reported that organisers originally hoped to stage the event shortly after this year’s Australian Open but postponed it due to Nadal’s injury. Nadal recently signed a high-profile deal to become an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) where he will travel to the region multiple times throughout the year and is set to open an academy there.
“After some other tennis players have done so, I am very excited to play for the first time in Riyadh,” the Spanish former world No.1 commented.
The timing of the event coincides with what is already a packed Tour schedule. October starts and ends with Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris. Between those events, are two prestigious 500 tournaments in Vienna and Basel. Sinner is the defending champion in Vienna, Medvedev is defending runner-up points from the same tournament and Rune is defending semi-final points from Basel.
The only way those players can remain committed to playing in Basel and Vienna would be if the King Six Slam is held between October 14-20 which is the same week three ATP 250s are taking place. However, it remains to be seen if the likes of Djokovic and Co would be willing to play four consecutive weeks leading up to the prestigious ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
“I am really looking forward to coming back to Saudi,” Medvedev commented. “Ever since my first trip in 2019, I have been back several times and really looking forward to being part of this new event. The best players in the world all in one place is exciting. I cannot wait to see everyone out there.”
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in holding tennis events in recent years with 2023 being the first year they staged an ATP tournament. The Next Gen Finals was held at the King Abdullah Sports City and featured the best under-21 players in the world. They are also strong contenders to hold the WTA Finals later this year.
However, critics have accused the country of using sport to improve their image which has been affected by wrongdoing. A term which is better known as sportswashing. Saudi Arabia has been under fire over their human rights records, particularly concerning women and LGBT people. However, they argue that action has been taken to improve their human rights record.
Recently tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert co-wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post urging the WTA to not stage their premier event in the country due to concerns over human rights. Prompting criticism from Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, who is the Saudi Arabian ambassador to America. Princess Reema’s two-page statement focused solely on women’s rights and failed to address the concerns raised over LGBT people in her country.
There is yet to be any response from the ATP regarding the King Six Slam clashing with their events.
