Saudi Arabia’s sporting calendar is starting to buckle under the Houthi bombardment. The Six Kings Slam, the eye-wateringly lucrative tennis exhibition that was meant to fly Alcaraz, Djokovic, Zverev and three other stars into Riyadh next week, will not go ahead in October. The new dates fall in the gap between Christmas and New Year, from 27 to 30 December.
The organisers never mentioned danger. They spoke instead of “logistical” hurdles and of wanting fans to enjoy a first-class show. The reality is hard to miss. Since the weekend, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have fired missiles at the kingdom, hitting the capital’s main airport, where more than a dozen people were killed and several hundred hurt, and aiming at Aramco facilities too.
Money on hold
The event, now in its third year and set to be streamed by Netflix, pays each of its six players around £1.2m just for turning up, with roughly £3.5m more for the winner. Americans Fritz and Tien plus Australia’s de Minaur would complete the line-up. Jannik Sinner, who beat Alcaraz in the past two finals, is currently injured.
Football has been hit too. The domestic top flight has called off three round-nine fixtures: Al Hilal v Al Riyadh and Al Ittihad v Al Shabab will be played on 19 December, while Ronaldo and Al Nassr will not travel to Al Ahli until 6 March 2027. Ronaldo’s club had already seen a continental fixture on Monday kick off sixty minutes late because sirens warned of an incoming missile.
More dominoes could fall. The Asian Tour says it is watching events ahead of November’s Saudi International golf in Riyadh, and Japan has pulled out of FIFA’s esports World Cup in Jeddah. Only Turki al-Sheikh sounds unshaken, insisting Canelo Álvarez will still box in Riyadh at the end of October.
