The Six Kings Slam is an annual tennis tournament based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It holds an astounding $13.5 million prize pool and features six of the best male tennis players in the world, including superstars like Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Italy’s Jannik Sinner and the legendary Novak Djokovic. Beyond just an exhibition for incredible amounts of cash, the tournament is part of a much larger trend as Saudi Arabia develops into one of the greatest sporting hubs in the world.
Established in 2024 as a part of Saudi Arabia’s “Riyadh Season,” the exhibition tournament was created to draw a massive audience to fast-paced, fun competition. A monthly festival from October to March, the “Riyadh Season” includes a wide diversity of events, not just sport-related venues. Backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the country aims to attract attention to the nation through concerts, sports, food and other forms of entertainment.
Unlike traditional tennis tournaments such as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA ), which use a points system, the Six Kings Slam is based on entertainment and attention. Some critics argue that tournaments like the Six Kings Slam could weaken the integrity of the structure of the tennis season. Exhibition tournaments do not award rating points to the participants, meaning players do not receive recognition for their successes despite being rewarded with millions.
This year’s tournament featured some of the highest earnings for players in history, including a whopping six million for the winner: that’s more than Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka combined earnings from the US Open.
Although countless fans condemn the human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, many players, including Alcaraz, have said that the Six Kings Slam is a welcome break from the 11-month grind of the ATP and WTA season.
Despite the positive global attention brought by sporting events in the Middle East—notably the 2022 World Cup, Formula 1 Grand Prix and now the Six Kings Slam—there is controversy surrounding these events. Many fans claim that the tournaments qualify as “sports washing,” a strategy in which nations such as Saudi Arabia use sporting events to distract from ongoing problems. Issues such as limited free speech, women’s rights, treatment of workers and oppression against LGBTQ+ individuals plague the Middle East.
Some see the Six Kings Slam as a demonstration of the peak of athletic capabilities and a movement to spread sports across the globe; others argue that it walks a fine line between athletics and politics.
