Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal to headline Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Jannik Skinner of Italy in the semi-finals of the men’s singles at the Australian Open.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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RIYADH – Saudi Arabia will host a new elite tennis exhibition featuring Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with three other Grand Slam winners in October, the country’s General Entertainment Authority has announced.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune will also play at the Six Kings Slam, which will form part of the Saudi cultural and entertainment festival Riyadh Season, organisers said.
With Sinner having recently won the Australian Open, 20-year-old Rune from Denmark is the only player on the six-man roster without a Grand Slam title.
Spaniard Nadal, who signed up as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation in January, said he was looking forward to the event.
“After some other tennis players have done so, I am very excited to play for the first time in Riyadh,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said in the press release.
While exhibition events in the Gulf are nothing new, they are usually played during breaks in the ATP season, or after it has finished.
The ATP has a full schedule in October, including mandatory Masters 1000 tournaments in Shanghai and Paris.
Saudi Arabia hosted the season-ending Next Gen Finals for men’s Under-21 players in Jeddah in 2023 and will hold the event until 2027.
The oil-rich country has invested heavily in sports like football, Formula One and golf over the last few years. However, critics have accused the country of using sport to cover up its poor record on human rights and equality issues.
The debate over Saudi Arabia potentially hosting the women’s WTA Finals has intensified, with tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova objecting, prompting heavy criticism from Saudi ambassador to the US last week.
Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka believes she can get back to the top by the end of 2024 as the Japanese draws inspiration from being a new mother.
The four-time Grand Slam champion suffered an early Australian Open exit following 15 months out of the sport after having her first child.
“I have so much respect for (the top-ranked players) and everything they’ve done. But I don’t really see myself as a challenger, which is a weird thing,” Osaka, 26, told The National as she prepares for the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s really bold to say but I know what I’m capable of and I know people are going to probably drag me for saying this, but I don’t think it’s a stretch for me to say that I see myself there.
“I hope that I can get there this year, hopefully towards the tail-end of the year. But if not I’m okay with being patient, I’ve always been a patient person, so I’ll get there eventually.”
Elsewhere, defending champion Medvedev, 27, has pulled out of the Rotterdam Open – he beat Sinner in the 2023 final – due to fatigue and a right foot injury, the Russian world No. 3 said.
He lost in five sets to Italian Sinner in the Australian Open final in January, having spent 24 hours and 17 minutes on court at Melbourne Park, a Grand Slam record. REUTERS
