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Boris Becker gives his honest thoughts on the Six Kings Slam and whether it’s good for tennis

Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Getty Images
Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Getty Images
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Six lucky ATP Tour stars headed to Riyadh this week as the inaugural Six Kings Slam event commenced.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune all made the trip.

Andy Murray is not a Six Kings Slam fan, with the Riyadh Season tournament aiming to improve the appeal of Saudi Arabia’s capital.

A lucrative prize purse has undoubtedly helped lure six of the world’s best players, with Medvedev earning $1.5million for his loss to Sinner.

The tournament is not affiliated with the ATP Tour, which has continued with the Almaty Open and Nordic Open.

Six Kings Slam 2024 - Day One
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Boris Becker says whether the Six Kings Slam is good for tennis

But aside from the interesting camera angles, tennis legend Boris Becker has shared his support for the Six Kings Slam.

“What about the camera angle… feel like I am watching from space! So I guess it’s not really my eyes,” he wrote on X.

READ MORE: Six Kings Slam 2024: How to watch, prize money, rules, dates and everything you need to know

“Look, I am a believer in opening new markets for tennis since it’s a global sport! Riyadh Season gave 6 kings an opportunity to showcase their ability in a relatively new territory for tennis. Nothing wrong whatsoever!”

What does the Six Kings Slam mean for the future of tennis?

Players across the ATP and WTA tours will hopefully still be eyeing the Grand Slams above all else in the years to come.

But there is now a real danger of tennis following in the footsteps of other sports and becoming dominated by money.

The game does, of course, need to keep up with the times, with Wimbledon doing its best not to fall behind the likes of the Australian Open and US Open by deciding to replace line judges with artificial intelligence next summer.

READ MORE: Jannik Sinner has done something no other player has been able to in four years during win over Daniil Medvedev at the Six Kings Slam

Tennis fans are angry at Wimbledon for removing line judges, with the All England Club moving away from tradition.

Fortunately, the level of competition does not look like suffering anytime soon, with Sinner and Alcaraz effortlessly taking over from the big three of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer.