Sinner and Fritz motivated by $6M exhibition Six Kings Slam

Some tennis fans are questioning why the top figures in the sport, who often complain about the tight schedule, decide to participate in exhibitions like the Six Kings Slam, which begins this Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. For Taylor Fritz, the answer is clear: millions of reasons. Specifically, 6 million dollars.

I would love for them to show me a tournament where you can play three matches, or two for the top two seeds, and potentially win $6 million. I would love to hear it.

Taylor Fritz

Fritz is one of the six tennis players who will participate in the second edition of the Six Kings Slam. Among them is Jannik Sinner, who returns after taking the top prize in the previous edition in Saudi Arabia, a sum greater than that offered by most regular tournaments. The US Open, for example, recently awarded $5 million to the individual winners, setting a record in the Grand Slams. This event is part of Saudi Arabia’s growing investment in tennis, and vice versa, including the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the ATP Next Gen Finals in Jeddah, and the Public Investment Fund’s sponsorship of the tours’ rankings. For the Six Kings Slam, each player is guaranteed an appearance fee of $1.5 million; the winner takes a bonus that raises their winnings to four times that amount, with the matches broadcast live on Netflix.

Money is not something we try to hide. We know how much is at stake here, and it would be a lie if I told you it wasn’t a motivation.

Jannik Sinner

Sinner, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and was runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open and the US Open, added:

All the players here will try to win as many matches as possible. It’s like any other exhibition, only here there’s a bit more motivation.

Jannik Sinner

Sinner withdrew from his last match, a week and a half ago at the Shanghai Masters, due to severe leg cramps. However, he assured that he is doing well. I recovered. We took a few days off to rest and now we are ready for the rest of the season. Mentally I am in good shape and I will give 100%. In the first matchday, Sinner will face Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Fritz will play against Alexander Zverev. The winner of the Fritz-Zverev match will face Alcaraz on Thursday, and the winner of the Sinner-Tsitsipas match will face Novak Djokovic. After a day of rest on Friday, the winners of the semifinals will face each other on Saturday to close the tournament. Djokovic holds a record of 24 Grand Slam titles, Alcaraz has six, and Sinner, four; all have been number one in the world. Fritz was runner-up against Sinner at the US Open 2024. Zverev is a three-time major finalist.