There are some tennis fans who are wondering why top players who complain about the crowds on the sport’s calendar would add a seasonal exhibition like the Six Kings Slam, which starts Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, to their schedule.
Taylor Fritz can think of a million reasons. Well, 6 million, to be exact.
“I would like it if they show me a tournament where you can play three matches – well, for the top two seeds, two matches – and potentially earn $6 million,” Fritz said during a video interview from Riyadh on Tuesday. “I’d like to hear that from them.”
Well, then.
Fritz is one of six men participating in the second edition of the Six Kings Slam. That includes Jannik Sinner, who is back after walking away with the check for that top prize in Saudi Arabia a year ago – more than any real tournament has to offer the champion. The US Open’s recent $5 million payout to the winners of the women’s and men’s singles set the Grand Slam record.
The event is part of the kingdom’s recent big moves into tennis – and vice versa – including the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the ATP Next Gen Finals in Jedda and the Public Investment Fund’s sponsorship of the tours’ rankings. Hall of Famers Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are among critics of the sport’s ties to Saudi Arabia over LGBTQ+ and women’s rights concerns there.
For the Six Kings Slam, each player will receive a guaranteed participation fee of a reported $1.5 million; the last one standing will receive a bonus that brings his total to four times that for the matches shown live on Netflix.
“The money is nothing we’re trying to hide. We know how much is at stake here, and it would be a lie if I told you it wasn’t motivation,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year and finished second to rival Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open and US Open. “Every player here will try to win as many games as possible. It’s just like any other exhibition, except here there’s a little more motivation.”
Sinner stopped playing in his most recent match, a week and a half ago at the Shanghai Masters, due to severe leg cramps. But he said Tuesday that he is doing well.
“I have recovered. We took a few days off to rest and now we are ready for the rest of the season,” said Sinner, who noted he has not yet decided whether to help Italy win a third consecutive Davis Cup title next month. “Mentally I’m in good shape… and I’ll give 100%.”
He will meet Stefano Tsitsipas on Day 1, when Fritz will face Alexander Zverev. The winner of Fritz-Zverev will face Alcaraz on Thursday and the winner of Sinner-Tsitsipas will face Novak Djokovic. After taking Friday off, the winners of the semifinals will play each other on Saturday to close things out.
Djokovic owns a men’s record 24 Grand Slam trophies, Alcaraz has six and Sinner has four; each is also ranked #1.
Fritz was runner-up to Sinner at the 2024 US Open. Zverev is a three-time major finalist, including losses to Sinner at this year’s Australian Open and Alcaraz at last year’s French Open. Tsitsipas was twice the runner-up to Djokovic at Slams.
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