The Six Kings Slam exhibition will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the draw for the competition has already been released.
The exhibition organizers recently posted a sensationally made tennis promotion featuring all the players in various costumes. Rafael Nadal was made out of clay, while Holger Rune sported a Viking costume.
The promotion was extremely well-made, with some even considering it one of the greatest tennis promos ever, showing that the organizers want to take the tournament seriously.
When it was announced, the exhibition created many headlines because many fans weren't happy that it would be held in Saudi Arabia, a country with a less-than-stellar human rights record.
While it won't be the first tournament in the country, it will be by far the biggest tennis event ever organized. Tennis in Saudi Arabia is here to stay, as the WTA Finals will be held there later this year, and there will likely be even more events held in the country in the future.
The country is rapidly modernizing, and while there is plenty of skepticism about some of the tournaments in Saudi Arabia, players seem to be on board and happy to compete in Riyadh.
Heavy financial compensation is likely a factor, as the Six Kings Slam champion will take home an incredible $6 million. The Six Kings Slam will last four days, but only three of them will be playing days. The first quarter-finals will be held on October 16th, and the semi-finals will be held on October 17th.
After that, players will get a day off, which they will likely use to explore the country. However, the real reason for the day off is to ensure the event complies with the ATP's rules, which don't allow players to compete in exhibitions that last three consecutive days.
Then, the final and, very untraditionally for tennis tournaments, except for the Olympics, the match for third place will be held on October 19th, which will be the last day of the tournament, held during the popular Riyadh Season.
Fans will get to see two matches on the first day, which are designated as quarter-finals. In the first one, Jannik Sinner will take on Daniil Medvedev in what will be a rematch of this year's Australian Open final, which the Italian player ended up winning thanks to an inspired comeback, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
In the second quarter-final match, Holger Rune will take on Carlos Alcaraz in a match of two youngsters. The winners of those matches will progress to the semi-finals, where two legends await.
On one side, there is Novak Djokovic, who is in the top part of the draw. The winner of the match between Medvedev and Sinner will take on the Serbian player in the semi-final.
On the other hand, the winner of the match between Rune and Alcaraz will take on Rafael Nadal, who awaits on the other side of the draw. Depending on how these matches go, the match for third place will feature the losers of those semi-finals taking on each other, while the final will, obviously, see the winners of the semi-final matches battle it out for the trophy.
The event will feature six matches in total with arguably some of the best players in the world right now.
2024 Six Kings Slam Draw:
| Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | BYE |
| Daniil Medvedev | Jannik Sinner |
| Holger Rune | Carlos Alcaraz |
| Rafael Nadal | BYE |
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