What is lucrative Six Kings Slam & who is playing?
- Published
Five of the world's top 10 men's players will compete at a lucrative exhibition event in Saudi Arabia this week.
There is a reported $4.5m (£3.4m) in prize money on offer at the Six Kings Slam, with some players also likely to have been paid seven-figure sums to appear.
Reports say the winner could take home up to $6m (£4.5m).
For context, the US Open men's singles champion won $5m (£3.8m), with £3.5m on offer at the Australian Open, £3m at Wimbledon and 2.5m euros (£2.2m) at the French Open.
The world's top two players - Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner - are competing, alongside third-ranked Alexander Zverev, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, world number four Taylor Fritz and two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Britain's Jack Draper was due to play but ended his season early because of an arm injury.
It is the second time the event has taken place, with Sinner beating rival Alcaraz in last year's final.
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How does the event work?
Jannik Sinner won the inaugural Six Kings Slam in 2024
The event is held over three days, over a three-set format, and will be streamed live on Netflix - having been shown on DAZN last year.
It begins at the quarter-final stage, with four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner playing Tsitsipas and Zverev facing Fritz. Djokovic and six-time major champion Alcaraz have been given byes through to the semi-finals.
As it is an exhibition, there are no ATP ranking points on offer. Results also do not count towards official head-to-head records., external
Matches will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday as, under ATP rules, players cannot compete on three consecutive days at exhibitions.
The event is held at The Venue, an 8,000-seater arena, as part of Saudi Arabia's annual 'Riyadh Season' - which sees sporting tournaments and concerts held in the country's capital.
Why do players play at exhibitions?
Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal at an exhibition match in Cape Town in 2020
Exhibitions are meant to promote the sport and take it to new audiences. Organisers want the best players in the world to feature because they will sell more tickets.
Roger Federer played Rafael Nadal in Cape Town in 2020 in front of 51,954 fans - a reported record, external for a tennis crowd at the time, albeit not an official match.
Alcaraz - a gifted, highly entertaining shot-maker - plays a lot of exhibitions.
He faced Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in New York and North Carolina respectively at the start of the year
Alcaraz and Tiafoe also took part in an event in Puerto Rico, and are scheduled to play alongside Emma Raducanu and Amanda Anisimova in New Jersey in December.
The Spaniard has also been vocal about the strain of the increasingly packed calendar, saying in 2024 they are "going to kill us in some way".
When asked last year about playing so many exhibitions, Alcaraz said: "I have seen that many people talk about my calendar because I have put many exhibitions [in].
"But you have to separate the calendar and the exhibitions - they are different things."
Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero believes, external the style of play at exhibitions - which tend to be about entertainment, rather than winning - helps his charge relax.
- Published21 October 2024
Concerns have also been raised about Saudi Arabia using its wealth to invest in sports in a bid to improve its image - known as 'sportswashing'.
World number 12 Casper Ruud said last year he had turned down offers to play in the Kingdom.
He also spoke about human rights issues in other countries, such as China.
"You can definitely discuss China and human rights in China, but we go there every year," he told Danish outlet SpilXperten., external
"If you want to put Saudi Arabia as a controversial country, there should be other countries as well that should be mentioned, and we don't mention those."
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