The Six King Slam is back for a second edition as the star-studded exhibition is all set to commence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This year’s lineup includes returning stars Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Jannik Sinner. They’ll be joined by Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev, and Jack Draper. The inaugral event made headlines last year, attracting global viewership for its high production value. Now, as it returns for its second edition, let’s learn more about the tournament’s royalty and what’s on offer in the 2025 edition.

Who owns the Six Kings Slam 2025?

The Six Kings Slam tournament was first organized in 2024 as part of the Riyadh Season, a sporting initiative driven by the government of Saudi Arabia to showcase its cultural and entertainment offerings as part of its Vision 2030 strategy. The official organizing body of the Six Kings tournament is the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA), a government entity responsible for regulating and promoting the entertainment industry in the Kingdom.

The event, which brings tennis’s global superstars to Riyadh, is another high-profile sporting event that the country hosts, highlighting the Kingdom’s standing as a centre for the most happening events on the planet.

How is the Six Kings Slam organized?

Turki bin Abdulmohsen Al Al-Sheikh, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the GEA, and a prominent figure in Saudi Arabia’s entertainment sector, oversees the staging of the tournament. The 2025 event will be held at the ANB Arena, previously known as The Venue, an 8,000-seater state-of-the-art arena equipped to play host to international sporting events.

The Six Kings Slam is being sponsored by Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company. But not just that, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, substantially backs the tennis event.

Six of the biggest superstars on the ATP Tour participate in the event. Mind you, there’s no qualification. It is an invitation-only tournament where each participant gets $1.5 million just for being a part of the event. And the final winner gets an additional $4.5 million. So, in total, the 2025 winner gets to leave with $6 million!!

The 2025 Six Kings Slam has linked up with Netflix as its exclusive broadcasting partner. The event will be streamed live with access to over 300 million subscribers worldwide. And with the names on offer, you will not want to miss out as brilliance takes center stage. However, the event is not sanctioned by the ATP. So players will not receive ranking points from the tournament.

The tournament is also supported by other governmental and private sector entities that are aligned with the Vision 2030 goal of the Kingdom, making it a showcase event of the nation.

What is the format of the Six Kings Slam 2025?

With 6 players divided into two groups. Djokovic has Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas in his bracket, while Alcaraz has Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev on his side. These gentlemen will be involved in a 4-day exhibition-type tournament from October 15-18.

A major selection criterion is Grand Slam wins, which also decides the seeding. As a result, Novak Djokovic, as the 24-time Grand Slam Champion, and Carlos Alcaraz, with 6 Grand Slam wins, are the top seeds, even though Sinner won last year’s Six Kings Slam.

In fact, last year, there was another Grand Slam winner in the tournament, Rafael Nadal, showcasing the event’s clear preference. Now, on to the main event – October 15 will see the start with the quarter-final matches between Zverev vs Fritz, and Sinner vs Tsitsipas. Alcaraz and Djokovic get byes in this round, who start their campaigns on October 16.

Djokovic plays the winner between Sinner and Tsitsipas, and Carlos Alcaraz takes on the victor from the Fritz-Zverev match. The winners of these semi-final ties go on to play the final on October 18. Even the ones who lost in the SF ties play for the 3rd-place decider. October 17 will be a mandatory rest day, complying with the ATP rule that bars athletes from playing on three consecutive days in an exhibition.

Why is Saudi Arabia investing in high-profile tennis exhibitions?

So what are the fans getting? Unparalleled access on Netflix with over 20 cutting-edge cameras, including wirecam, drone, robotic technology, and augmented reality graphics; expert commentary around some swashbuckling tennis from the sport’s biggest stars.

Exhibition matches involving icons have always brought the fans out in celebration of the sport. When Roger Federer played Rafael Nadal in 2020 in an exhibition match in Cape Town, 51,954 fans gathered to see the two legends, a record turnout. Saudi Arabia launched the Riyadh Season to foster fans of different sports backgrounds from all over the world to come experience one of the world’s biggest entertainment festivals every winter.

This has helped the nation to promote tourism and present itself as a cultural hub where the global populace can converge and experience life like never before. This initiative has at its center the objective of creating a successful sports ecosystem, which has brought show-stopping events to Riyadh, like the WWE, boxing, Six Kings Slam, golf events, F1, etc.

But the biggest cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has to be the FIFA World Cup, which they will host in 2030. The goal of making the greatest and the biggest international sporting event a success has led them to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Premier League. And other superstars from all over the world have followed suit.

The significance of tennis is that it has always had universal appeal. Its champions are global icons, its rivalries have inspired millions, transcending borders, cultures, and generations. Six Kings Slam, in that respect, becomes the perfect event to reflect Saudi Arabia’s commitment to delivering high-quality sports with top-class entertainment.