Six Kings Slam 2025: Sinner, Alcaraz and the $6 million battle

The Six Kings Slam event is being hosted by Saudi Arabia for the second consecutive year, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz competing for the $6 million prize.

Meeting in Saudi Arabia

Three weeks ago, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner sent a joint letter to the four Grand Slam tournaments, expressing their dissatisfaction with the way these tournaments distribute prize money to players.

The world's top two tennis players, along with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on the women's side, are asking the organizers of the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open to increase the prize money share from the current 16% to 22% by 2030.

The Six Kings Slam takes place for the second consecutive year. Photo: Riyadh Season

A few days before this letter, Alcaraz had just won his 6th Grand Slam title in New York, receiving 5 million USD – the highest prize in tennis.

This week, the world No. 1 can earn even more, without having to play for 15 days of intense competition like at a Grand Slam. If he wins both matches at the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament held in Riyadh under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), Alcaraz will pocket $6 million.

Alcaraz will play Taylor Fritz , who beat Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. After a mandatory rest day as per ATP rules, the final will take place on Saturday.

BTC dreams of a rematch between Alcaraz and Sinner (who just beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 and 6-3) – the person who defeated him in the 2024 final.

The Italian arrived in Riyadh after withdrawing early from the Shanghai Masters – the second time in four tournaments he has had to withdraw due to fitness issues.

“The schedule needs to be adjusted. There are too many mandatory tournaments, too dense. They force us to participate in many Masters 1000s and 500s,” Alcaraz complained two weeks ago after winning Tokyo, thus continuing his criticism of the overloaded tournament schedule from 2024.

The defeat in Riyadh then opened a period of decline: stopping at the round of 16 of Paris-Bercy and not passing the group stage of ATP Finals.

Sinner and Alcaraz are expected to play in the final. Photo: EFE

However, the Spaniard still managed to take part in a couple of exhibition matches at the end of the year – against Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden and Francis Tiafoe in Charlotte.

Agreement with ATP

With his explosive playing style and special appeal, Alcaraz is the "trump card" of the Six Kings Slam - an event without ATP points.

An interesting paradox, because the PIF Foundation itself is the main sponsor of the ATP rankings from 2024, after signing an agreement to “promote the global development of tennis” .

Since then, Saudi Arabia has quickly become a new power, hosting the WTA Finals in Riyadh and the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.

On the green field of ANB Arena – a new project inaugurated for this occasion – the “Riyadh Season” logo appears everywhere.

The Six Kings Slam is just the opening act of a massive entertainment festival that the Saudi royal family has in store: months of “global entertainment experiences with 11 distinct themed zones.”

Alongside top-notch tennis, there's also the WWE Royal Rumble (professional wrestling), Premier Padel, the Snooker Billiards Championship and the Fanatics Flag Football Classic headlined by football legend Tom Brady.

Last year, Riyadh Season earned nearly $3 billion. Photo: Riyadh Season

According to Mr. Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment, up to 20 million people attended “Riyadh Season” last year, with a total estimated value of nearly 3 billion USD.

This is a big boost for the minister – former owner of Almeria Club in Spain – who sees tennis as one of his top priorities, especially after the failure of the LIV Golf project.

Just days ago, the Saudi Arabia-sponsored golf tournament announced a loss of nearly $500 million in 2024, bringing the total deficit over the past three years to more than $1.2 billion.

This year's Six Kings Slam is also backed by a broadcasting deal with Netflix, replacing DAZN as the online partner.

Criticism from legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in The Washington Post hasn't stopped the tennis business from blossoming here.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/six-kings-slam-2025-alcaraz-sinner-va-6-trieu-usd-2453199.html