Nadal, prize money, Saudi Arabia: Everything you always wanted to know about the Six Kings Slam (but never had time to find out) – updated after final

What is the Six Kings Slam?

The Six Kings Slam is a tennis exhibition event that took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October 2024. It featured six male players competing over the course of three days as part of the Riyadh Season.

Who won the Six Kings Slam?

Jannik Sinner won the Six Kings Slam, defeating Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

When is the Six Kings Slam?

The Six Kings Slam started on October 16 and concluded on October 19. However, there was no play on October 18.

Why was there a rest day at the Six Kings Slam?

The ATP Tour has a stipulation that players are not allowed to compete for three consecutive days in an exhibition event. In Saudi Arabia, Friday happens to be the official weekly holiday due to its religious significance in the nation, also known as the “home of Islam”.

What happened on the final day of the Six Kings Slam?

Novak Djokovic faced Rafael Nadal in the third-place playoff, while Sinner and Alcaraz met in the final.

Djokovic defeated Nadal with relative ease, winning 6-2, 7-6 (5) in what could well prove to be Nadal’s final singles match. The Spaniard produced some flashes of brilliance across the match, ripping a forehand down the line on the run at one stage. Afterwards, Djokovic paid tribute to his greatest rival with a moving speech.

In the final, Sinner edged out Alcaraz in a tight encounter, their fourth of 2024. Alcaraz fought his way back from 4-1 down in the opening set to win in a tiebreak. However, he was unable to do so in the following two sets, falling behind due to errors and Sinner’s ruthless consistency from the baseline.

What happened on day two of the Six Kings Slam?

Day two of the Six Kings Slam saw the semi-finals take place, with Jannik Sinner playing Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz squaring off against Rafael Nadal.

Sinner prevailed in a tight first semi-final, beating Djokovic 6-2, 6-7 (0), 6-4 to book his place in the grand final.

He was joined by Alcaraz, who had a more straightforward match against compatriot Nadal, winning 6-3, 6-3.

The pair will play in the grand final on Saturday, with the inaugural Six Kings Slam title on the tile, plus a cool $6 million in prize money.

What happened on day one of the Six Kings Slam?

Day one of the Six Kings Slam saw two quarter-finals completed, with Jannik Sinner taking on Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz playing Holger Rune.

Both were heavily one-sided matches, with Sinner winning 6-0, 6-3 and Alcaraz prevailing 6-4, 6-2.

Who competed at the Six Kings Slam?

The following players competed at the Six Kings Slam:

• Jannik Sinner 
• Carlos Alcaraz
• Novak Djokovic
• Daniil Medvedev
• Holger Rune
• Rafael Nadal

What is the Six Kings Slam prize money?

In typical Saudi Arabian style, an enormous purse was up for grabs at the Six Kings Slam. Here’s the breakdown:

• Each player got $1.5 million for participating
• The winner received a further $6 million

This means that the winner of the Six Kings Slam netted almost twice that of winning a Grand Slam, walking away with $7.5 million.

What is the schedule and format of the Six Kings Slam?

As mentioned, the event took place from October 16-19, with a one-day break. 

The format was a straight knockout, with Djokovic and Nadal receiving byes into the semi-finals. A third-place playoff was also be held, ensuring that the tournament’s two biggest names each competed twice.

Here’s the exact order of play:

• Wednesday, October 16: Medvedev v Sinner and Rune v Alcaraz (quarter-finals)
• Thursday, October 17: Djokovic v Sinner and Nadal v Alcaraz (semi-finals)
• Friday, October 18: No play
• Saturday, October 19: Djokovic v Nadal (third-place match) and Alcaraz v Sinner (grand final)

What time are the matches played at the Six Kings Slam?

Matches began at 6:30pm CEST, and were played back-to-back with a 12-minute break between matches.

What is going on with the Six Kings Slam camera angle?

The Six Kings Slam used an unconventional camera angle on day one of the event, that received a lot of criticism online.

Matches appeared to be broadcast through a spider camera, with play shown from a very high angle. This made it harder to track the ball than the usual, lower angle that ATP and WTA Tour events are shown through.

The camera angle was fixed on day two, with a more conventional viewing experience provided.

Why did Holger Rune play at the Six Kings Slam?

Rune is the only player competing at the Six Kings Slam who has not won a Grand Slam. He is also currently ranked outside the top 10, at No 14 in the world. So why is he there?

Ultimately, the Saudi Arabian organisers had the final say on who would compete at the event, so there is no objective qualification criteria. However, Rune has long been touted as a future rival for Sinner and Alcaraz. He has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, peaking at world No 4, and has picked up wins over all of the other players at the Six Kings Slam except for Nadal.

What did Andy Murray say about the Six Kings Slam?

The recently retired Andy Murray gave a scathing review of the Six Kings Slam in September 2024, saying:

“Except it’s not a movie and you won’t watch it because it’s an exhibition tennis event that nobody cares about,” in response to a tweet by British tennis player Liam Broady who was praising the Six Kings promo video.

What’s so special about the Six Kings Slam trailer?

A five-minute long trailer was released to promote the Six Kings Slam last month. It features each of the six players as different characters emphasising their unique traits, such as Djokovic levitating and stopping a ball with the power of his mind, and Rune chartering a Viking longboat.

The promo received plenty of attention online, with Liam Broady saying, “Speechless as to how damn cool this promo is. Probably best I’ve ever seen in tennis. Would watch this movie. 10/10.”