Carlos Alcaraz confirmed for first event since Shanghai Masters withdrawal

Any fears about Carlos Alcaraz's physical state can probably be put to rest. He will play at an event occurring this week.

Alcaraz only played in one tournament during the Asian swing. In his maiden appearance at the 2025 Japan Open in Tokyo, he won the title after beating Taylor Fritz in the final despite a heated interaction with the umpire after a time violation.

The Spaniard achieved that success despite some physical issues at the tournament. That led to his withdrawal from the 2025 Shanghai Masters, which he announced in an apologetic statement to the Chinese fans.

Those physical issues could have threatened his participation at the 2025 Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament in Riyadh where Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas will play.

Alcaraz participated in the maiden iteration 12 months ago. Sinner defeated him in the final to secure a record $6,000,000 in prize money. The Italian was ridiculed by many when he claimed the money did not matter to him afterward.

MARCA reports that Alcaraz will fly with his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, on Tuesday to play at the Six Kings Slam, ensuring him a minimum of $1,500,000 just for participating in Riyadh, regardless of how he performs.

Alcaraz did not seem overly worried about a severe injury when he withdrew from the Shanghai Masters, but his upcoming appearance at the Six Kings Slam will still be a relief to tennis fans.

Although Sinner's triumph at the exhibition was notable, Rafael Nadal's penultimate professional appearance before retirement at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga received the most attention.

Last year, Nadal and Djokovic received byes into the semifinals. Alcaraz defeated Holger Rune, and Sinner overcame Daniil Medvedev to secure their places with the tennis legends.

Nadal fell 6-3, 6-3 to Alcaraz, and Djokovic lost 2-6, 7-6, 4-6 to Sinner, setting up the final, which the Italian won from a set down. That victory is only his second in nine matches against Alcaraz, showing he has a problem against the Spaniard.

Despite not being the final, Djokovic and Nadal's last meeting in the third-place match received even more attention. The Serbian triumphed 6-2, 7-6 against his old rival and gave an emotional speech about him afterward.

Sinner not receiving a bye into the semifinal of this year's Six Kings Slam is somewhat controversial due to his status as the defending champion and the No. 1-ranked player for over a year until Alcaraz overtook him after the 2025 US Open.

Djokovic's position as the most statistically successful tennis player ever and Alcaraz's worldwide popularity and current No. 1 status were probably the reasons Sinner was not given a bye ahead of them.

Alcaraz and Sinner's domination of men's tennis since the start of 2024 means they are undoubtedly the favorites to win this year's Six Kings Slam, but the other four players' chances should not be ruled out.