Sinner and Fritz motivated by the $6M Six Kings Slam in Arabia

Some tennis fans are questioning why the most prominent figures, who often complain about the tight schedule, decide to participate in exhibitions like the Six Kings Slam, which starts this Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. Taylor Fritz has a very clear reason, or rather, six million reasons.

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 dollars. 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, including Jannik Sinner, who returns after taking the top prize in the previous edition in Saudi Arabia. This prize exceeds what is offered in any official tournament, even the $5 million that the individual winners of the US Open took home, setting a record in the Grand Slam. 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 circuit rankings. Figures like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have expressed criticism of the sport’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, due to concerns about LGBTQ+ and women’s rights in the country. In the Six Kings Slam, each player is guaranteed an appearance fee of $1.5 million, and the winner takes home a bonus that raises their total to four times that amount. The matches will be broadcast live on Netflix.

Money is not something we try to hide. We know what’s at stake here, and it would be a lie if I said it wasn’t a motivation. Every player here will try to win as many matches as possible. It’s like any other exhibition, only here there’s a little more motivation.

Jannik Sinner

Sinner, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and was runner-up at the French Open and the US Open, retired from his last match at the Shanghai Masters due to cramps, but assures he is recovered and ready for the rest of the season. He has not yet decided whether to participate in the Davis Cup next month. In the first match, Sinner will face Stefano Tsitsipas, while Fritz will play against Alexander Zverev. The winner of the match between Fritz and Zverev will play against Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday, and the winner of the match between Sinner and Tsitsipas will face Novak Djokovic. The semifinals will be played on Saturday. Djokovic, with 24 Grand Slam titles, Alcaraz with six, and Sinner with four, have been number one in the world. Fritz was runner-up against Sinner at the 2024 US Open. Zverev has been a finalist in three major tournaments, including losses to Sinner at the Australian Open and Alcaraz at the French Open. Tsitsipas has been runner-up twice against Djokovic in Grand Slam tournaments.