Six Kings Slam: Controversial tennis event in Saudi Arabia

The Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia is causing a stir

The starting field? High class. The prize money? Exorbitant. What should the controversial Six Kings Slam be in which Nadal, Djokovic, Sinner or Alcaraz take part?

Published today at 6:07 p.m

As a sand fighter in action: Rafael Nadal in the trailer for the Six Kings Slam.

Photo: Screenshot YouTube trailer (@Turki Alalshikh)

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The elaborate promotional video for the Six Kings Slam looks like a trailer for a Hollywood blockbuster – and the tennis stars are all playing along. Carlos Alcaraz as Cyborg. Jannik Sinner as a Renaissance artist. Holger Rune as a Viking. Daniil Medvedev as Bear Rider. Rafael Nadal as a sand fighter. Novak Djokovic as a wolf tamer. “There is a lot of nonsense at the Six Kings Slam,” commented the “New York Times” on the controversial show tournament in Saudi Arabia: “But the trailer? He’s awesome.”

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It is probably the most expensive video production in tennis history – but money is not a problem for the organizer. The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) is allowed to use the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF, which has a total volume of an estimated 650 billion euros.

The rumored signing bonus of $1.5 million for each starter is compared to quick change, just like the winner’s bonus of $6 million. All the money is part of the strategy to generate attention for an exhibition tournament that is actually irrelevant and has neither an official title nor world ranking points at stake.

At the premiere on October 16th and 19th, the six tennis stars will compete in the “ultimate battle” in Riyadh, as the makers artificially inflated the event. But there is actually no shortage of superlatives: never before has a show tournament had such a high-quality cast and so well endowed as the Six Kings Slam, which also took place during the season of the professional organization ATP. This is only possible because there is no major compulsory ATP tournament during this period and there is a day’s break from competition. According to the ATP, unofficial events are not allowed to take place on three or more consecutive days.

This was “a move to circumvent the rules,” said Dietloff von Arnim. The President of the German Tennis Association considers the start of stars like Alcaraz, who helped spark the stress debate in tennis with his criticism, to be at least questionable. “If someone complains about the great stress and then plays an exhibition tournament, then it’s a bit strange.”

Andy Murray: Nobody is interested in show tennis

At the start, Spain’s tennis ace Alcaraz will play against Rune from Denmark, while the Italian world number one Sinner will play against the Russian Medvedev. Record Grand Slam tournament winner Djokovic and Spain’s veteran star Rafael Nadal are already set for the semi-finals.

Nadal recently announced his final retirement at the end of the season. In front of him Farewell to the Davis Cup final from mid-November The 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner should still live up to his role as tennis ambassador for Saudi Arabia. The 38-year-old said dutifully that he was very happy “to play in Riyadh for the first time.” Nadal has not played an official singles match since the end of July when he lost to Djokovic at the Olympics.

This is also why the sporting value of the Six Kings Slam is questionable, especially since the ATP finals with the eight best tennis players of the year are coming up three weeks later. It’s just “show tennis that no one cares about,” wrote two-time Olympic tennis champion Andy Murray on the X platform.

Massive investment in sport – but why?

The WTA finals for the eight best players, which took place for the first time in Riyadh at the beginning of November, are about much more. Before the award, tennis icons Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova expressed their anger in a joint letter to WTA boss Steve Simon: WTA finals in Saudi Arabia, which has been widely criticized for human rights violations, would be “incompatible with the spirit and the Mission of women’s tennis and the WTA». The WTA argued that the money from Saudi Arabia would make the pursuit of equal pay – the same pay as men – much easier, even outside of the Grand Slam tournaments.

The fact is: Saudi Arabia is increasing its influence in tennis. There has been a multi-year strategic partnership with the ATP since February; the Saudi sovereign wealth fund appears, among other things, as the name sponsor of the world rankings and as an official partner at major tournaments. The Next Gen Finals, the annual finals for the best professionals under the age of 21, are already taking place in Jidda.

Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in sport for years and has also made significant inroads into football, boxing and Formula 1. The official goals of the state plan “Vision 2030” are the diversification of the economy, less dependence on oil, opening up the country to tourists and attractive offers for its own population. But the kingdom is also accused of using its involvement in sport to distract attention from its human rights violations and to improve its image.

DPA

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topicnews · October 15, 2024

Six Kings Slam: Controversial tennis event in Saudi Arabia

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