Saudi Arabia's Riyadh is set to host a high-stakes tennis spectacle as the 2025 Six Kings Slam unfolds from Wednesday to Saturday.
The ANB arena is set to bring together six of the world’s top male players for a Netflix knockout tournament that promises drama and eye-watering prize money.
For the second consecutive year, the event has attracted an elite lineup that reads like a top-five snapshot of the ATP rankings, led by world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Joining them are 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, world No. 4 Taylor Fritz and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who stepped in following Jack Draper’s season-ending injury.
The tournament’s format ensures intensity from start to finish.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have earned byes into the semifinals, while Sinner faces Tsitsipas and Zverev meets Fritz in Wednesday’s quarterfinal clashes.
The winners of those matches will advance to meet the sport’s biggest stars in semifinals that set the stage for a potential Alcaraz-Sinner showdown in the final, a rematch of last year’s thrilling three-set battle in which Sinner edged the Spaniard 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to lift the inaugural crown.
The event also includes a third-place match, guaranteeing that every player competes for position and prize money until the final point is played.
The matches feature no-ad scoring and a 10-point tiebreak in deciding sets, ensuring that momentum swings come fast and every point carries weight.
The Six Kings Slam is not just a showcase of talent but a statement of wealth and ambition.
Reports suggest the eventual champion will walk away with $6 million, combining a $4.5 million prize and a $1.5 million participation fee, surpassing the men’s singles payout at the U.S. Open.
The total prize pool of $13.5 million underscores Saudi Arabia’s growing appetite for high-profile sports events and the country’s drive to position Riyadh as a global hub for world-class competitions.
Last year’s tournament left an indelible mark on tennis history.
Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz captured headlines, but the event also served as the backdrop for Novak Djokovic’s final match against Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic defeated Nadal 6-2, 7-6 in what became a symbolic closing chapter to one of the sport’s most storied rivalries.
On court, Djokovic praised Nadal for pushing him to new limits over nearly 15 years, calling the rivalry “amazing” and transformative, a sentiment that resonated throughout the tennis world.
Netflix returns as the broadcast partner, assembling a commentary team designed to match the tournament’s global ambition.
Veteran broadcaster Prakash Amritraj will lead the English-language coverage, bringing the sharp, energetic presence that has made him a fixture on Tennis Channel and ESPN.
He will be joined by former world No. 4 Tim Henman, Spanish stylist and doubles expert Feliciano Lopez, former Olympian Laura Robson and ATP tactician Mark Petchey.
Multilingual feeds ensure fans across continents experience the action in their native tongues, from Europe to Latin America, with coverage in French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish and Italian.
The scheduling of matches aims for a global prime-time alignment, giving fans from Los Angeles to Riyadh simultaneous access to live, high-octane tennis.
Beyond the competition, the Six Kings Slam represents a broader shift in professional tennis and global sports media.
It combines prestige, spectacle and financial incentive in a way few tournaments do, trading the traditional round-robin or Grand Slam structure for a high-drama knockout format that favors both established champions and rising stars.
For players like Sinner and Alcaraz, it is an opportunity to measure themselves against legends like Djokovic while chasing one of the richest prizes in the sport.
For the younger stars, it is a stage to announce themselves on a global platform where millions of fans will be watching, both live and online.
