Sinner and Fritz motivated by the million-dollar prize at the Six Kings Slam

Some tennis fans wonder why the top players, who often complain about the sport’s packed schedule, add exhibition events like the Six Kings Slam. This tournament, which starts this Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, generates controversy and debate. However, for Taylor Fritz, the answer is clear and juicy. The motivation is economic, and it’s not a small amount.

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 that.

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, surpassing the rewards of any real tournament. To put it in perspective, the US Open, which offers one of the highest prizes, awarded 5 million dollars to the individual winners. This event is part of Saudi Arabia’s growing investment in tennis, which includes the WTA Finals in Riyadh and the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. The Public Investment Fund’s involvement in sponsoring the tours’ rankings is another example of this trend. For the Six Kings Slam, each player is guaranteed an appearance fee of $1.5 million, and the winner takes a bonus that raises their winnings to four times that amount. The matches will be 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 said it wasn’t a 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, claims to be in good physical and mental shape. He will face Stefanos Tsitsipas on the first day of the tournament. Fritz will play against Alexander Zverev on the same day. The winner of the match between Fritz and Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday, while the winner of the match between Sinner and Tsitsipas will face Novak Djokovic. After a day of rest on Friday, the semi-final winners will face each other on Saturday to close the tournament. Djokovic, with 24 Grand Slam titles, Alcaraz with six, and Sinner with four, are some of the tennis players who have reached number one in the world. Fritz was runner-up against Sinner at the 2024 US Open. Zverev is a three-time finalist in a major, while Tsitsipas has been runner-up twice to Djokovic in Grand Slam tournaments.