The Six Kings Slam might have ‘slam’ in the name, but it’s not a Grand Slam. The list of players competing in Saudi Arabia this week, though, is akin to some Grand Slams, because we’ll be getting the best of the best.
It’s by far the biggest exhibition Saudi Arabia has hosted so far, with the best entry list as well. Novak Djokovic has taken on Carlos Alcaraz in the country before, but this will be much better and bigger, with six huge names competing at the event this week.
When is the Six Kings Slam? October 16th – 19th, 2024
Who Is Competing at the Six Kings Slam?
Six players have been invited to compete at the Six Kings Slam:
- Novak Djokovic
- Rafael Nadal
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Jannik Sinner
- Daniil Medvedev
- Holger Rune
These are some of the best players in the world right now. Between them, they hold 43 Grand Slams, hence the name of the event. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the two leaders in all-time major titles, while Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have split the year’s four Grand Slams between them in 2024.
While nobody would typically include Holger Rune in the mix – he is ranked No 14 after all – the Dane is capable of holding his own with the best. In fact, he has beaten all but one of the players present at the Six Kings Slam, with Nadal the only scalp he’s yet to bag.
Rounding out the roster is Daniil Medvedev. While the Russian has had a quiet year, he’s still one of the only players to have won a Grand Slam outside of the Big Three, and the new Big Two, in the last few years.
On top of that, this will be one of the last times we see one of the big legends play tennis. Nadal just announced his retirement recently, and outside of this event, we only know he’ll participate in the Davis Cup.
What Is the Prize Money at the Six Kings Slam?
The prize money is one of the biggest we’ve ever had in tennis, which is why all of these players signed up. Here’s the break down:
- $1.5 million appearance fee
- $6 million to the winner
That means the winner of the Six Kings Slam will walk away with a cool $7.5 million – almost twice what the winner of the US Open receives, and certainly not bad for three days’ work.
Schedule and Format of the Six Kings Slam
As it’s an exhibition event, the Six Kings Slam has its own special format that was set up deliberately. The two top legends at the event, Djokovic and Nadal, will start the competition in the semi-finals.
It’s basically as if they had byes in the first round of an event, which is not a foreign concept in tennis. The other players, however, have to play the quarter-finals, after which they will get a chance to face the legends in the semi-finals.
The first quarter-final will feature Medvedev taking on Sinner. The winner will go on to face Djokovic. The other quarter-final will feature Rune taking on Alcaraz. The winner of that match will face Nadal.
The quarter-finals will be played on day one, which is on October 16th. The semi-finals will be played on day two, which is October 17th.
Interestingly, the event features a rest day – October 18th – which allows the event to circumvent some of the ATP Tour stipulations, and also accommodate the Islamic nation’s religious activities on Friday.
The third day of play, October 19th, will feature a match for third place between the losing players from the semi-finals. The final will take place after that.
Six Kings Slam Odds
So if you’re wondering where you can bet on the Six Kings Slam, it’s a very good question. In some places, you might be able to do so, but at most sportsbooks, you won’t because it’s an exhibition, which means betting is not available.
We will continue to monitor the betting sites and update any available odds on this page up until the event starts.
We can still assume which player would likely have been favored. Jannik Sinner, due to his recent form and how he’s performed on hard courts, would likely be the minor favorite. He would likely be closely followed by Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
It’s tough to say who would have had better odds between them, but it’s likely to be Alcaraz due to his story and how he performed this year.
Daniil Medvedev wouldn’t have been given many chances, and neither would Holger Rune, while Rafael Nadal likely would have had the highest odds. He hasn’t played in a long time, and there are a lot of question marks regarding his form.
Six Kings Slam Predictions
For those wondering how the Six Kings Slam will unfold, here are our predictions for the Saudi Arabian event:
- Rune Will Look Out of Place
Rune might have picked up some form at the Shanghai Masters, earning a couple of decent wins, but generally, the Danish player hasn’t looked that great in recent times.
His overall season has been pretty lackluster, especially when it was time for him to step up properly. Rune hasn’t managed to do that this year so far, and it’s highly unlikely he will do it right now among these players. He is facing Alcaraz in the quarter-final, and the Spaniard is in far better form and is generally the more developed player overall right now.
Expect a short, sharp result on the opening day, with Rune getting no more than his appearance fee in Saudi.
- Djokovic Might Get Revenge
Djokovic is directly in the semi-final, so he doesn’t know whom he will face for a spot in the final. It’s either going to be Medvedev or Sinner. Both are pretty solid players, but one matchup is infinitely tougher for him, and it’s Sinner.
They just faced each other in the Shanghai final, and Sinner was able to win. If the Italian beats Medvedev, as he’s expected to, then Djokovic might get a chance for revenge, and there’s a good chance he’ll do just that. The last time these two played each other in such close proximity – at the 2024 ATP Finals – Djokovic bounced back from his loss with a dominant victory over Sinner.
Sinner has been playing a lot of tennis, and Djokovic’s pride won’t allow him to just roll over in such a high profile event. We’re picking he’ll exact his revenge here.
- Alcaraz Becomes First Six Kings Winner
Alcaraz is, in many people’s eyes, the most likely winner of the first Six Kings Slam. The reason for that is rather simple: he’s the freshest player out of all of them. Medvedev and Rune haven’t had long weeks in Shanghai like him, but he’s a far better player than both.
He faces Rune in the quarter-final and is likely to beat him, then could face Medvedev in the final. It’s not a matchup that has given him too many problems in the past, so he should be able to win that one without too many issues.
Both Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner are capable of beating Alcaraz in a tennis match, and if someone were to do it at the event, it would be them. However, both had a long week in Shanghai. Fatigue might play a minor factor, and if it does, then Alcaraz is most likely to win the event.
- Sinner Continues to Dominate
There is also this one possible outcome where Sinner just keeps dominating the way he’s done so far. The Italian is the No 1 player in the world right now, both in terms of recent results and overall ranking.
He just won the Shanghai Masters, beating Djokovic in the final. He might just keep winning and confirm that he’s indeed the No 1 player, both in the rankings and overall. To do that, he’ll have to beat Medvedev, Djokovic, and likely Alcaraz.
A final against Alcaraz would be a genuine spectacle and arguably the best final we could get, considering how strong their China Open match was, but that’s the one he might lose. Alcaraz is one of the rare players that has beaten him on a hard court this year, and he did it twice.
