The inaugural Six Kings Slam will take place this week in Saudi Arabia.
The star-studded exhibition tournament will see Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune face off with a staggering amount of money on the line.
Nadal and Djokovic have been given byes into the last four, meaning they could pocket tennis’ biggest prize cheque for just two days’ work.
The winner of the Saudi Arabia exhibition will take home £4.6million ($6million) – almost double the £2.7m Alcaraz earned for winning Wimbledon this summer.
Day one will see Medvedev take on Sinner before Alcaraz faces Rune. The winner of Medvedev vs Sinner will meet Djokovic in the semi-final, while Nadal will lay in wait for either Alcaraz or Rune.
Every player is guaranteed a minimum prize of £1.15m ($1.5m) for taking part. It means those who lose on day one will bag more than a million for playing just one match.
It’s an extra incentive for those who are carrying physical niggles like Medvedev, who struggled with his shoulder during his recent Shanghai Masters quarter-final loss to Sinner.
The players who lose in Thursday’s semi-final will return for a third-place playoff match on Saturday before the final.
The Six Kings Slam will be one of Nadal’s last outings on a tennis court before his retirement. The 38-year-old is already in Saudi Arabia to prepare for his penultimate tournament.
Nadal is set to say goodbye at next month’s Davis Cup Finals, where he will represent Spain alongside Alcaraz. Fans will be hoping to see one last showdown between Nadal and Djokovic before the 22-time Major winner hangs it up.
They will both need the same result in Thursday’s semi-final to meet on Saturday. If he and Djokovic win their semi-final matches, they’ll face off in the final. If they both lose, they can still contest the playoff tie.
Nadal’s most recent singles match was against Djokovic. They faced off for the 60th time at professional tour level in the second round of the Olympics with the Serb winning 6-1 6-4.
Djokovic has been hit hard by the news of his rival’s retirement. “We knew that that moment is coming sooner than later but it’s still a shock when it came officially,” he said last week.
“Also for Roger [Federer] a few years ago when he announced retirement and Andy [Murray] as well this year. I mean it’s a bit overwhelming for me to be honest. I don’t know what to make out of it. I still enjoy competing but part of me left with them, big part of me.”
The world No. 4 is already planning to head to Malaga for Nadal’s Davis Cup farewell. The Six Kings Slam will be the first time they will see each other since Nadal made the announcement.
