The most lucrative exhibition tennis tournament, called the "6 Kings Slam," is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this October.
The official date and tournament format have not been communicated, nor are the details related to the prize money. But the organizers are reportedly set to fork out a record remuneration package to match, as revealed by the Telegraph UK.
The player field has been unveiled, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, and Holger Rune expected to make the trip in what is traditionally a busy month on the ATP calendar.
It will be interesting to see how players' schedules will align with this tournament, especially at a time when the ATP Finals are just around the corner. But the numbers that have been disclosed are so staggering that they directly rival the ATP's biggest tournaments.
In fact, the winner of the "6 Kings Slam" is projected to earn a total of $6 million. This would be the single-largest payday in tennis history. The closest figure to this was Novak Djokovic's paycheck from winning the 2022 ATP Finals as an undefeated champion.
Djokovic received $4.74 million. He also earned the second-largest paycheck at the 2023 ATP Finals, which stood at $4.42 million. Retired Australian WTA star Ashleigh Barty won an equivalent of $4.42 million for lifting the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
Just by showing up at the "6 Kings Slam" in Saudi Arabia, each participant is guaranteed to bank $1.5 million in appearance fees, which is still a colossal figure. This would be higher than the prize money offered for winning the 2024 Indian Wells Masters - the so-called "fifth Grand Slam."
The ATP has not commented on the news just yet, but tennis fans have shared some very strong reactions about the tennis stars who have signed up for the event.
Saudi Arabia's growing interest in tennis has already fostered ties with the men's governing over the past few years and held the first-ever ATP-sanctioned event - the Next Gen Finals - in Jeddah last season.
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