Six Kings Slam: Djokovic back in Riyadh for $6 million

The walk-on in Riyadh is staged like a title fight. The player’s name fills the screen behind the court, the arena goes dark, and he strides out with a bag on his shoulder and a hand raised to the stands. Novak Djokovic has made that walk twice already, and both times he ran into the same man somewhere along the way.

Now comes the third attempt. The line-up for the third edition of the Six Kings Slam is out and Djokovic is on it. The event runs from October 21 to October 24, 2026 in Riyadh, indoors on hard courts, as part of Riyadh Season. Turki Alalshikh is the promoter, and every match streams live on Netflix.

The money lands before a single point is played. Every participant collects $1.5 million simply for showing up, and whoever lifts the trophy adds $4.5 million on top, $6 million in total for four days of tennis. Not one ATP ranking point is attached to any of it, because this is an exhibition rather than a tour event.

Who is playing and what has changed since last year?

The 2026 field looks like this:

• Jannik Sinner, defending champion and winner of both previous editions
• Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s runner-up
• Novak Djokovic, in Riyadh for a third straight year
• Alexander Zverev
• Taylor Fritz
• Alex de Minaur

There is exactly one change. Alex de Minaur comes in for Stefanos Tsitsipas, which leaves five of the six players returning for a second year running. The Australian arrives ranked fifth in the world, a career high, so this is an invitation earned on court rather than a contract rolled over.

Alcaraz used the launch to make clear the trip suits him.

I am very happy to return to Riyadh. The atmosphere is incredible and it is a privilege to be part of a unique event alongside the best players on tour.

The Spaniard lost last year’s final to Sinner, which gives his return the shape of unfinished business. The Italian kept it shorter.

I am happy to return to try to defend my title for another year.

Djokovic in Riyadh: two visits, two exits to Sinner

The first edition, in 2024, gave Djokovic third place and a win over Rafael Nadal in the play-off for it. That match reads better now than it did then, since it was one of the last meetings between two players who spent most of two decades sharing the top of the game.

A year later the script was thinner. Djokovic again reached the third-place match, this time against Taylor Fritz, and retired from it. At both editions it was Jannik Sinner who knocked him out of the running before going on to win the title, beating Alcaraz in the 2025 final.

So the ledger he carries into a third attempt is short: two appearances, no final, and one opponent who has closed the door both times. For a player who built a career on getting inside rivals’ heads, two identical outcomes in the same building are the kind of detail that sticks.

What Riyadh means for his schedule

Djokovic is building this season around his own priorities. New York comes first, where, as we reported, he is entered in the US Open mixed doubles alongside Aryna Sabalenka, an event played from August 24 to 26. The Saudi exhibition follows two months later, in the stretch of the calendar where the choice is usually about what to skip.

For a player who fills his year with fewer and fewer tournaments that carry no silverware, four days in Riyadh are hard to turn down: an indoor arena, names from the top of the rankings, no points at risk, and a cheque no regular event can match. The third edition starts on October 21.