One by one, they pull up at the St Regis Hotel in Riyadh.
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune have arrived — only Novak Djokovic is yet to join the biggest stars in men’s tennis in accepting flowers, taking tea and talking with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA).
They are the show and they are here in the Saudi capital for another. One of the richest exhibitions in tennis history, a $15million (£11.9m) bonanza the kingdom has called the ‘Six Kings Slam‘. The winner will take home $6m. Just being there earns over $1m.
Two weeks later, the WTA Tour will arrive for its season-ending finals, another $15million payday for the top eight women’s singles players of the year and the best women’s doubles teams. The ATP Next Gen Finals, an event featuring the top eight men in the rankings aged under 21, will come to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second biggest city and commercial center, in December.
For the rest of the season, this Gulf nation will assume the role of the heart of the tennis universe, as unlikely as that might seem for a country where people barely play the sport and important tournaments have never taken place. After years of pushing, everything looks ready for Saudi…
