Six of the best male tennis players are off to Saudi Arabia for the Six Kings Slam, so The Tennis Gazette has looked into everything to know on the Riyad Season event.
Saudi Arabia has put up a very lucrative prize purse for the Six Kings Slam to convince six of the best ATP Tour players to take part. It is also one of the last chances tennis fans will get to see Rafael Nadal on court after the 22-time Grand Slam champion confirmed his retirement.
Nadal is taking part in the Six Kings Slam alongside his long-time rival Novak Djokovic. Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are also playing at the Six Kings Slam, which is part of Riyadh Season created to improve the appeal of Saudi Arabia’s capital.
Everything you need to know about the 2024 Six Kings Slam
The Six Kings Slam is an exhibition tennis tournament featuring six of the best players on the ATP Tour. But it is not sanctioned by the ATP Tour and offers no ranking points, with the only prize money at the event allocated for the winner alongside a guaranteed participation sum.
Saudi Arabia invited each of the Grand Slam winners currently playing on the ATP Tour to be among the six players contesting the Six Kings Slam in Nadal, Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz and Medvedev. Rune is the only non-Grand Slam champion playing at the 2024 Six Kings Slam.
So, with that in mind, The Tennis Gazette takes a look into everything that you need to know about the 2024 Six Kings Slam, from the rules and prize money to how to watch in the USA…
When will the 2024 Six Kings Slam take place?
The 2024 Six Kings Slam will start on October 16 and will run to October 19 as while it is only a three-day event, ATP rules prevent players from competing for three consecutive days. So, the organizers of the Six Kings Slam have selected Friday, October 18 as the official rest day.
What is the format of the 2024 Six Kings Slam?
The Six Kings Slam follows the format of a traditional tennis tournament but starts from the quarter-finals stage with two head-to-head matches. Riyadh Season has given Djokovic and Nadal a bye into the semi-finals and has placed the pair on separate sides of the main draw.
The two beaten semi-finalists will also play a third-place play-off game, despite the Six Kings Slam not paying any prize money based on finishing positions except for the overall winner.
The draw for the 2024 Six Kings Slam
Given Riyadh Season has gifted Djokovic and Nadal byes into the semi-finals of the 2024 Six Kings Slam, the quarter-finals will include Sinner, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Rune. The players will contest the following quarter-final matches after the draw for the 2024 Six Kings Slam:
- Quarter-final 1 – October 16: Jannik Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev
- Quarter-final 2 – October 16: Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune
- Semi-final 1 – October 17: Novak Djokovic vs winner of QF1
- Semi-final 2 – October 17: Rafael Nadal vs winner of QF2
- Final – October 19: Winner of SF1 vs winner of SF2
- Third-place play-off – October 19: Loser of SF1 vs Loser of SF2
Why Holger Rune is playing at the 2024 Six Kings Slam
The 2024 Six Kings Slam boasts the five active Grand Slam players on the ATP Tour through Nadal, Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz and Medvedev. So, to reach the necessary six players for the event, Riyadh Season invited Rune to take part as the only non-active Grand Slam champion.
Riyadh Season did not stipulate any essential requirements to decide who should play in the Six Kings Slam if not a Grand Slam champion, so it opted to invite Rune. The Danish 21-year-old is currently only the ATP World No14, but many feel Rune is a future Grand Slam winner.
Rune has never played a Grand Slam semi let alone a final in his career so far. The Monaco-born prospect penned his career-best run to the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2022 and 2023 plus at Wimbledon in 2023, and made the fourth rounds of both events this year.
Where will the 2024 Six Kings Slam take place?
The 2024 Six Kings Slam is taking place at the headline venue of Riyad Season 2024, which is called, The Venue. It was purpose-built with audiovisual technology for the Six Kings Slam.
- Location: The Venue, Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- The Venue capacity: 8,000 seated
What is the prize money for the 2024 Six Kings Slam?
As the Six Kings Slam is not an ATP-sanctioned event, there are no ranking points available to win, but the Riyadh Season event has a very lucrative prize purse. Players are guaranteed $1.5m just for taking part in the Six Kings Slam, while the winner will gain an additional $6m.
Saudi Arabia has also put up the largest prize in tennis history for the winner of the Six Kings Slam. Sinner earned $2.1m after winning the Australian Open and $3.6m for winning the US Open. Alcaraz made $2.6m for winning the French Open and $3.4m for winning Wimbledon.
Men’s singles prize money
| RESULT | PRIZE MONEY |
| Winner | $6,000,000 |
| Taking part | $1,500,000 |
How to watch the 2024 Six Kings Slam in the USA
Riyadh Season signed a worldwide broadcast agreement with DAZN for tennis fans to watch the Six Kings Slam live, including on TVs, connected devices and to stream online in the US.
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