Six Kings Slam: What is it? What is the prize money? When is it held? Are Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal playing?
Updated 11/10/2024 at 10:55 GMT+1
Six of the top tennis stars on the ATP Tour will be in action at the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event that will be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October. Who is playing at the Six Kings Slam? What’s the format? What's all the excitement about the trailer? Is Rafael Nadal playing? We run through everything you need to know about the new tournament, including what players have said about it.
Novak Djokovic (L) and Rafael Nadal
Image credit: Getty Images
It’s got a Hollywood-production-level promo and the biggest winner's cheque in tennis history, but what is the Six Kings Slam?
The exhibition event will be played for the first time in October and will feature six of the best players on the ATP Tour.
But who is taking part? What’s the format and schedule? What's the buzz about the trailer? Is Rafael Nadal still playing after announcing his retirement? And why is Andy Murray seemingly not a fan? Here's everything you need to know...
What is the Six Kings Slam?
The Six Kings Slam is a lucrative six-player tennis exhibition event that will take place from October 16-19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It is a single-elimination tournament, with two of the six players getting first-round byes.
There will be two matches played on both the first two days, followed by a rest day, and then the third-place match and final on Saturday, October 19.
Who is playing the Six Kings Slam?
The six players competing at the Six Kings Slam are Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune.
That's four of the top five in the ATP rankings, including current world No. 1 Sinner.
It will be one of the final events of Nadal's career after he announced he will be retiring following the Davis Cup Finals in November.
The Six Kings Slam will be the first time Nadal has played since the Paris Olympic Games, after withdrawing from the US Open and Laver Cup.
Djokovic and Nadal have both got first-round byes, meaning they will play their opening matches on October 17.
Six Kings Slam schedule
- October 16: Medvedev v Sinner, Rune v Alcaraz
- October 17: Djokovic v Medvedev or Sinner, Nadal v Rune or Alcaraz
- October 19: Third-place match, final
What is the Six Kings Slam prize money?
Eye-wateringly enormous.
Each of the six players will reportedly get a minimum of $1.5 million (£1.12m) for taking part.
The winner will take home $6m (£4.5m), which is getting on for double the amount that Sinner earned for winning the US Open ($3.6m) this year.
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How does it fit into the ATP schedule?
The Six Kings Slam squeezes itself in after the Shanghai Masters, which finishes on October 13, and before the final Masters event of the season in Paris.
It will be played in the same week as the first tournaments of the European indoor swing.
Amid talk of whether the tennis schedule is too jam-packed, Sinner and Alcaraz have both withdrawn from ATP 500 events in Basel and Vienna in the week of October 21.
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What is the Six Kings Slam promo?
For an idea of how much backing is behind the Six Kings Slam, just watch the promo.
The five-minute short film was directed by Los Angeles-based film company Los Perez and is a very high-spec production.
All six players feature in various roles; there’s Rune as a Viking warrior, Medvedev riding a bear, and Djokovic in the wilderness with wolves.
The trailer impressed British player Liam Broady, who wrote on X: “Speechless as to how damn cool this promo is. Probably best I’ve ever seen in tennis. Would watch this movie. 10/10.”
Former world No. 1 Andy Murray did not seem as enthused.
“Except it’s not a movie and you won’t watch it because it’s an exhibition tennis event that nobody cares about,” Murray wrote in reply to Broady.
World No. 70 Corentin Moutet also shared a view on the promo, writing: “The trailer is more expensive than my prize money this year.”
Medvedev was, unsurprisingly, more positive: “How incredible is this!!! Can’t wait to play this event.”
Nadal, who agreed earlier this year to become an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation, said he was looking forward to playing the event.
"After some other tennis players have done so, I am very excited to play for the first time in Riyadh," the Spanish icon said.
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