The schedule for the second edition of the lucrative 6 Kings Slam has been confirmed, but Jannik Sinner won’t receive a bye despite being No 2 in the ATP Rankings.
The exhibition tournament will run from October 15 to 18 at the anb arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and it will feature six of the biggest names on the ATP Tour.
Six-time Grand Slam winner and reigning world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz will headline the tournament, and he will be joined by four-time major winner Sinner, world No 3 Alexander Zverev, world No 4 Taylor Fritz, No 5 and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and world No 24 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
How Does The 6 Kings Slam Work?
The tournament is by invitation only, and with big money involved, organisers try to get only the best in the business involved.
Last year, they managed to lure five Grand Slam winners as Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner were joined by Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev with Holger Rune the odd man out as he hasn’t won a major yet.
This year, the Grand Slam winners are down to three with Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner in the draw.
As for the format, there will be quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.
The top two seeds receive byes and head straight into the semi-finals while the other four players have to battle it out for two spots for the honour to face the top two.
Who Are The Two Seeds?
World No 1 Alcaraz is the top seed and headlines the semi-final in the top bracket while Djokovic headlines the bottom bracket and has also received a bye.
If you are wondering why Djokovic, and not Sinner, is seeded second, the reason is simple: organisers select seedings based on Grand Slams and the Serbian has won 24 compared to Sinner’s four.
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As for the rest of the draw, Fritz will take on Zverev with the winner going on to face Alcaraz in the semi-final, while Sinner and Tsitsipas will battle it out for the honour of taking on Djokovic.
What About The Schedule?
Although the tournament runs from October 15-18, it will only be played over three days (October 15, 16 and 18) due to an ATP rule that prevents players from competing for three consecutive days at an exhibition tournament.
So you will have quarter-final matches on Wednesday, the semi-finals on Thursday, a rest day before the third-place play-off match and the big final take place on Saturday.
Last year, Sinner beat Medvedev, Djokovic and Alcaraz to win the big prize.
Prize Money Available
Mind-blowing totals are available to all players with the winner cashing in one of the biggest prize cheques in sport.
Each player is guaranteed a participation fee of $1,500,000 and the last man standing will earn an extra $4.5 million to take his tally to $6 million total.
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