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

Some tennis fans wonder why the best players, who often complain about the sport’s tight schedule, add themselves to exhibition events like the Six Kings Slam. This tournament, which starts on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, raises questions about the priorities of the tennis players. However, for Taylor Fritz, the answer is clear and valued in millions of dollars. Specifically, six million.

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

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, also held in Saudi Arabia. This sum exceeds what any real tournament offers its champion, even surpassing the $5 million awarded to the individual winners of the US Open. This event is part of Saudi Arabia’s growing investment in tennis, and vice versa, including the WTA Finals in Riyadh and the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. The participation of prominent figures in the tennis world generates mixed opinions. However, for the Six Kings Slam, each player is guaranteed an appearance fee of $1.5 million; the winner takes home a bonus that raises their total to four times that amount, with the matches broadcast live on Netflix.

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

Jannik Sinner

Sinner, winner of the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and runner-up at the French Open and the US Open, assures he is in good physical and mental shape. Despite withdrawing from his last match at the Shanghai Masters due to cramps, Sinner claims to have recovered and be ready for the rest of the season. On the first day of the tournament, Sinner will face Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Fritz will play against Alexander Zverev. The winner of the Fritz-Zverev match will face Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday, and the winner of the Sinner-Tsitsipas match will face Novak Djokovic. The semi-finals will be played on Saturday. Djokovic holds the 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 Grand Slam finalist.