Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to participate in Saudi exhibition while ATP Tour season is ongoing

ByRichard Newman

Published 06/02/2024 at 09:18 GMT

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are among the players who have signed up for the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, which takes place in October at a time where the ATP schedule is already rammed. Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz, new Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, runner-up Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune complete the line-up.

Saudi Arabia’s growing investment in tennis will move up another level this October when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal participate in a new exhibition event while the ATP season is ongoing.

The Six Kings Slam will feature an all-star men’s line-up, which also includes Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, new Australian Open title holder Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.

But the timing of the tournament, which takes place during Riyadh Season, is likely to attract some criticism. No exact dates have been announced for the event, but it will take place during a month where there are no free weeks on the ATP schedule - which includes mandatory tournaments for top players at the Shanghai and Paris Masters.

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It means the participants will have to skip ATP events to play in what is likely to be a lucrative competition, the format of which has not yet been confirmed.

The announcement has been made during a period of increasing speculation over Saudi Arabia’s involvement in tennis. The Kingdom already hosts the ATP’s Next Gen finals, while it reportedly came close to holding last year’s WTA Finals, before Cancun in Mexico was chosen instead.

Eighteen-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova recently wrote in the Washington Post that it would be a “step back” for women’s tennis if the WTA eventually decides to head to the Kingdom for the season-ending showpiece, given its restrictive rights for women.

But Ons Jabeur, the highest ranked Arab player in the history of the WTA, has given her support to the idea.

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“After some other tennis players have done so, I am very excited to play for the first time in Riyadh,” said Nadal, whose comeback from injury was curtailed ahead of the Australian Open.

Carlos Alcaraz says he will be trying to “show the best of my game” when he plays at the tournament, while Djokovic says he cannot wait to play “in front of all of my Saudi fans”.

Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has quickly grown its investment in sport. The state-backed Public Investment Fund is the majority shareholder in Newcastle United, while the LIV series has shaken up the future of golf, with tennis rumoured to be the next big target.

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There has been speculation that a rebel tour, similar to LIV, is being discussed and Djokovic had his say on that at the end of last year.

“I’m generally always supportive of improving the sport. I have said this many times before, that I think that tennis is not using its full potential,” he said.

“We are one of the most globally watched and popular sports in the world, but I think that we have been quite conservative and conventional in certain aspects, and that unfortunately hasn’t really been a great appeal to the younger audience.

“I’m a big supporter of our history and tradition and everything, I think we should always nurture that. But I think we need to try to adjust to the modern times and try to understand what the younger audience wants and really make tennis more appealing to that group.

“Where I stand [on talk of a rebel tour], I have no idea what elite tour you’re talking about. I have heard rumours as well, but it is, I guess, still early stages and we didn’t see anything concrete out there.”

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