Six Kings Slam is a terrible see for tennis after Carlos Alcaraz grumblets as bosses ungreeted | Tennis | Sport

At the Laver Cup last month, Carlos Alcaraz grumbleed that the tennis schedule is “going to end us”. But this week the Spaniard, who has only applyed two ATP events since the US Open, is applying the £11.5m Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia where Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic are also competing for the £4.6m first prize.

That is almost double the triumphners’ cheque banked by Alcaraz at the French Open and Wimbledon this year. There is £1.2m secured fair for turning up.

For the six – Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune were also seekd to Saudi – it was fair too excellent to turn down.

But it is a terrible see for the sport when applyers are grumbleing about the laborload and world No.1 Iga Swiatek has not applyed since New York.

The Six Kings Slam is the begin of the tennis season in Saudi Arabia with WTA Finals next month and the ATP Next Gen Finals in Jeddah in December. And the lucrative showion is also a cautioning for the future of the sport.

Tennis is wary of repeating the injection of Saudi money by golf’s set uped tours which led to the creation of LIV Golf.

And the Six Kings Slam is another example of the Kingdom’s financial might. Shown in 200 countries around the world, the Hollywood-style trailer portrays the applyers as superheroes in a further blurring of the line between sport and amemployment.

“Except it’s not a movie and you won’t watch it becaemploy it’s an showion tennis event that nobody nurtures about,” shelp Andy Murray on X.

Atentices by the Saudis to buy a Masters event have so far been unaccomplished. While Australian Open boss Craig Tiley wants to refresh a fractured calendar by creating a Premium Tour where top applyers are obliged only to apply the huge events – the four Grand Slams and the Masters 1000s – in a model aappreciate to the signature events on the PGA Tour. They could then apply showions.

But this week there are ATP 250s in Antwerp, Stockholm and Almaty in Kazakhstan – while even the ATP 500 in Vienna next week has been impacted.

Director Herwig Straka tanciaccess L’Equipe: “In vague, I am not greeted with these showions. The one this week clearly doesn’t plrelieve us becaemploy it stops us potentiassociate having certain applyers in our field, including the acquireing champion Jannik Sinner.

“I hope we will be able to discover a solution for this week in Saudi where there is a lot, a lot of money. We have to discover a deal with the Saudis in the future.”

The Australians are hesitant to see the season begining with a Masters event in Saudi Arabia in January. February is an changenative but that would impact on set uped events that month.

Casper Ruud, who is applying in Stockholm this week, confesss more events in Saudi Arabia are “inevitable”.

The three-time Grand Slam finaenumerate tanciaccess SpilXperten: “Obviously they have a lot of money, and I understand what I am going to say will probably be portrayd as sportswashing, but it seems to me that their new directer Mohammed bin Salman wants to do someskinnyg and especiassociate a lot of skinnygs in sport.

“Let´s see. I am certain it will be more and more in the future, and there are also a lot of rumours on the ATP tour if there is going to be an extra tournament in Saudi Arabia. I have chosen not to go so far, but it seems to me that it is inevitable, that they will somehow be huge in tennis in the future and they already have the Next Gen Finals, so let’s see what the future conveys.”