Andy Murray has lambasted the hyped-up Six Kings Slam event in Saudi Arabia, declaring that “nobody cares” about the spectacle.
Slated to take place in October 2024, Riyadh is gearing up to host what could be the year’s most cash-laden tennis event, boasting an all-star roster. While the new-fangled Six Kings Slam is not providing any ATP ranking points as its deemed an exhibition match, it is nevertheless drawing top players with its eye-watering purses from October 16 to October 19.
Tennis titans Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune are poised to strut their stuff at The Venue in Riyadh. And a cool minimum of £1.12 million awaits each of the sextet merely for showing up, dwarfing the sums collected by Wimbledon’s losing semi-finalists this summer.
Meanwhile, the inaugural champ will laugh all the way to the bank – raking in an immense £4.5m, nearly double Sinner’s US Open spoils earlier in the month, reports the Express. In a bid to drum up buzz, the Six Kings Slam dropped a slick, big-budget five-minute promo last Friday, spotlighting the six aces heading to the Saudi capital.
Excited by the trailer, Liam Broady took to social media to explain how he will be tuning in. He wrote: “Speechless as to how damn cool this promo is. Probably best I’ve ever seen in tennis. Would watch this movie. 10/10.” However, Scotsman Murray wasn’t convinced by the glitter and glamour of the promo, responding: “Except it’s not a movie, and you won’t watch it because it’s an exhibition tennis event that nobody cares about.”
Crafted by director Los Perez, the film has been met with critical acclaim and ramped up the glitter factor for the gala pencilled in just over a fortnight from now. The creative exposition features each player woven into historical vignettes that resonate with their heritage and style of play.
Alcaraz takes on an android atop a hovering court above the desert, while Sinner morphs into a Renaissance sculptor and Rune commands a Viking vessel cleaving through ocean waves. Medvedev is depicted arriving astride a bear, before Nadal appears as a clay colossus, hinting at his unrivalled mastery of the surface.
Djokovic is next, poised in a snowy wilderness, defiantly responding to wolves before igniting a tennis court with a mighty swing. The tournament gets underway in Riyadh on October 16.