How is the 6 Kings Slam, the tournament that opens the controversy in the ATP

Saudi Arabia continues its advance in the sports sector, under the framework of Vision 2030, a strategic plan to expand its nation’s global influence and diversify its economy, freeing it from its “dependency on oil”. And this week he took another step towards becoming the new actor in the world tennis. Because he announced that in October this year he will hold an exhibition with two racket legends and four other big stars from the men’s circuit.

He “6 Kings Slam” (Slam of 6 Kings, in Spanish), will call none other than Novak Djokovic AND Rafael Nadal, two of the best players of all time and winners, winners of 46 Grand Slam titles between them. The Serbian, owner of 24 “big” titles and number one in the world, and the Spaniard, who has 22 trophies in his cabinet in the most important category (14 of which Roland Garros), will be the main attractions of the event, which will also have Carlos Alcaraz, Daniel Medvedev, Jannik Sinner AND Rune Holgerthe only one in that group who hasn’t won one yet Greater.

Carlitossecond in the rankings, he was crowned in US Open 2022 and is the current champion of Wimbledon. The Russian, third and who had already played an exhibition on Saudi soil in 2019, celebrated in New York in 2021. The Italian, fourth, won his first title in that category just a few weeks ago in Australia, beating Medvedev final. Meanwhile, the Dane, seventh, has the best performance at that level of tournaments in the quarter-finals played twice in Paris (2022 and 2023) and in London last season, but he is one of the great figures of the Next generation led by Murciano.

“Prepare yourselves for the ultimate battle of titans. This October 2024, Riyadh season will host the 6 Kings Slam, a spectacular tournament where six titans of world tennis will face each other,” he said on his Twitter account. Turki Al-Sheikhpresident of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority and owner of the Spanish football team Almeria.

Saudi Arabia wants to become a regular stop on the circuits ATP AND WTAas part of that strategic plan devised by the prince Mohammed bin Salman when he was named heir to the throne and took control of the country in mid-2017. Last year he took a couple of important steps toward that goal.

Between the end of November and the beginning of December he received an edition of the for the first time Next Generation Finalsthe competition that brings together the eight best under 21s of the season and which took place in King Abdullah Sports City from Jeddah.

In the last days of the year great performance with Djokovic, Alcaraz, the Tunisian Hon Jabeur and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka as protagonists, in the context of Riyadh seasonan annual state-funded sports and entertainment festival held since 2019, but for the first time included the sport.

In the first weeks of January it was also announced that Nadal had become the new ambassador of that country’s Tennis Federation, where the Spaniard intends to install a new headquarters for his academy.

This attractive new competition – which will bring “first-class entertainment to Saudi residents and tourists from around the world” – does not yet have a confirmed date. Although it is known that it will be played weeks later US Open (from 26 August to 8 September) e Laver Cup (from 20 to 22 September), the exhibition tournament organized by Roger Federer and this usually brings together the big names on the tour too.

“I am excited to return to Riyadh and compete in front of my Saudi fans,” said Djokovic, according to the official statement released by Al-Sheikh on his social networks. Nadal, meanwhile, commented: “After other players have done it, I really want to play in Riyadh for the first time.”

While he continues to include performances with big racket stars, certainly seducing them with important prize money, Arabia continues to work to officially enter the professional circuits, his ultimate goal.

At ATP level he wants to host an important tournament and, skipping the 250 and 500, he is aiming for a 1000 Masters. There are versions that claim that he has already started negotiating to acquire the license for the Madrid or Miami event, which would mean a major blow to the calendar.

Furthermore, the Saudi “empire” would also be very close to signing an agreement with the WTA to receive the WTA Finalsthe end-of-season tournament of the women’s circuit, which does not yet have a confirmed venue for 2024. A possibility that many important names in tennis – such as Martina Navratilova AND Chris Evert– they do not see favorably, above all due to the culture of gender inequality established in that country and the rejection of homosexuality.

Beyond the criticisms – which are not few -, Arabia continues to conquer more and more ground in the world of rackets, as it has done for some time in football, golf, motorsports and many other sports, with the petrodollars as a guarantee.

Between 2022 and 2023 it allocated 10% of its GDP to sports projects, just over 4 billion euros. And it has another 6.6 billion to invest by 2030, to increasingly consolidate itself as a power in the global sports business.