The 2025 edition of the lucrative Six Kings Slam is about to get underway, but all six players competing in Riyadh have had some form of injury in recent weeks while a few have struggled with form as well.
Jannik Sinner will return to defend his title and he will be joined by world No 1 and six-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz, tennis great and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, world No 3 Alexander Zverev, No 4 Taylor Fritz and No 24 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
There will be a lot of money on the line at the exhibition event in Saudi Arabia as all six participants are guaranteed to an appearance fee of $1.5 million while the winner will earn an additional of $4.5m for a total $6m, which is the biggest payday in tennis.
All six players have had a niggle, injury or health issues in recent weeks but, unsurprisingly, they were determined to compete by hook or by crook as the money that cheque is just too big to turn down.
So let’s look at the participants’ recent injury issues.
Carlos Alcaraz
The 22-year-old, who will be the top seed at the Six Kings Slam, twisted his ankle during his opening match at the Japan Open at the start of October, but managed to finish the clash and went on to win another four matches to win the ATP 500 tournament.
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Alcaraz was then set to take part in the Shanghai Masters, but withdrew from the ATP 1000 event with coach later confirming he suffered a grade two ankle strain.
“We were able to control it, taking anti-inflammatory drugs, and he was able to hold out through the tournament with a grade two sprain, and had a lot of treatment every day,” Samuel Lopez said.
After taking time out, the Spaniard has been declared fit for the exhibition event although he was seen practicing with a heavily strapped ankle.
Novak Djokovic
Second seed Djokovic had all sorts of problems in Shanghai as he struggled with injury and physically in the hot and humid conditions.
Playing in his first tournament since the US Open, the 38-year-old vomitted during his matches against Yannick Hanfmann Jaume Munar, struggled with a leg problem when he faced Zizou Bergs in the quarter-final and also required medical treatment on his left glute and stifness during his semi-final defeat to Valentin Vacherot.
Let’s not forget he also played with a strapped shoulder most of the tournament.
Jannik Sinner
The heat in Shanghai did a number on several players and Sinner’s title defence came to an end very early on as he retired from his round of 32 match against Tallon Griekspoor midway through the deciding set.
Sinner received treatment on his right thigh early in the third set, although he decided to continue he struggled physically and at times he could barely run.
He threw in the towel after five games with cramps given as the official reason for his retirement.
In an interview with Cronache di Spogliatoio, Sinner stated: “I think they were due to a mental factor. I talked with my team — from that point of view I wasn’t perfect, but now everything’s fine.
“The mistake was mine: the heat and humidity got me down. You learn from these things — cramps can happen, and I was one of many to suffer from them.”
Alexander Zverev
The 2025 Australian Open runner-up has struggled with back issues for most of the year and his form has been shocking in recent months.
Zverev, whose only title this year was back in April, lost in the third round of the US Open, the quarter-final of the China Open and the round of 32 at the Shanghai Masters.
After being dumped out by Arthur Rinderknech in Shanghai, he said: “The year has been physically difficult. The last time I played without pain was at the Australian Open… My year has been terrible. I have no confidence in myself, I don’t believe in my shots. I’m playing horrible tennis.”
Taylor Fritz
World No 4 Fritz perhaps has the cleanest bill of health, although he is not without issues, as he did have a thigh problem during his run to the final of the Japan Open, while he also had some ankle discomfort recently.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The Greek replaced the injured Jack Draper in the line-up, but he is in the same boat as Zverev as he has also struggled with his back and his form has also been poor.
Tsitsipas has not played since losing in the second round of the US Open and Greek media reported that he underwent a small procedure on his back, but the man himself put out a press release to say that had not been the case and he is “doing well”.
However, he still missed the China Open and Shanghai Masters and will now make his return to semi-competitive tennis at the Six Kings Slam.
The post Six Kings Slam injury list as Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic struggle appeared first on Tennis365.
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