Saudi Arabia
continues its advance in the sports business, within the framework of Vision 2030, a strategic plan to expand the global influence of its nation and diversify its economy, freeing it from its "addiction to oil."
And this week he took another step to become the new actor in the world of
tennis
.
Because he announced that in October of this year he will hold an exhibition with two racket legends and four other huge stars of the men's circuit.
The
"6 Kings Slam"
(Slam of 6 Kings, in Spanish), will summon none other than
Novak Djokovic
and
Rafael Nadal
, two of the best players of all time and winners, winners between them of 46 Grand Slam titles.
The Serbian, owner of 24 "greats" and number one in the world, and the Spaniard, who has 22 trophies in his showcases in the most important category (14 of them from
Roland Garros
), will be the main attractions of the event, which will also feature with
Carlos Alcaraz
,
Daniil Medvedev
,
Jannik Sinner
and
Holger Rune
, the only one of that group who has not yet won a
Major
.
Carlitos
, second in the ranking, was crowned at the
2022 US Open and is the current
Wimbledon
champion
.
The Russian, third and who already played an exhibition on Saudi soil in 2019, celebrated in New York in 2021. The Italian, fourth, won his first crown in that category just a few weeks ago in Australia, by beating Medvedev in the final.
Meanwhile, the Dane, seventh, has the best performance at that level of tournaments in the quarterfinals he played twice in Paris (2022 and 2023) and in London last season, but he is one of the great figures of the
Next Gen
led by the Murcian.
"Prepare for the definitive fight of the titans. This October 2024, the Riyadh Season will host the 6 Kings Slam, a spectacular tournament where six titans of world tennis will face each other," said Turki Al-
Sheikh
, president of the Authority, on his Twitter account.
Saudi Entertainment General and owner of the Spanish football club
Almería
.
Saudi Arabia wants to become a regular stop on the
ATP
and
WTA
circuits , as part of that strategic plan that Prince
Mohammed bin Salman
devised when he was named heir to the throne and took control of the country in mid-2017. Last year he gave a couple of important steps towards that goal.
Between the end of November and the beginning of December, it received for the first time an edition of the
Next Gen Finals
, the competition that brings together the eight best sub-21s of the season and which was held at the
King Abdullah Sports City
in Jeddah.
Lift that trophy high @MedjedovicHamad 🏆#NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/wb8qnz3vPl
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) December 2, 2023
In the last days of the year, it held a massive exhibition with Djokovic, Alcaraz, the Tunisian
Ons Jabeur
and the Belarusian
Aryna Sabalenka
as protagonists, within the framework of the
Riyadh Season
, an annual entertainment and sports festival financed by the State that is held since 2019, but for the first time it included this sport.
In the first weeks of January it was also announced that Nadal had become the new ambassador of the Tennis Federation of that country, where the Spaniard plans to install a new headquarters for his academy.
This new and attractive contest - which will bring "first-class entertainment to Saudi residents and tourists from around the world" - does not yet have a confirmed date.
Although it is known that it will be held weeks after the
US Open
(August 26 to September 8) and the
Laver Cup
(September 20 to 22), the exhibition tournament organized by
Roger Federer
and which usually also brings together big names in the tour.
"I am excited to return to Riyadh and compete in front of my Saudi fans," Djokovic declared, according to the official statement released by Al-Sheikh on his social networks.
Nadal, meanwhile, commented: "After other players did it, I really want to play for the first time in Riyadh."
Djokovic and Alcaraz with Al-Sheikh, after the December exhibition.
Photo EFE/EPA/STR
While he continues to add exhibitions with great racket stars, surely seducing them with important prize pools, Arabia continues working to officially enter the professional circuits, his ultimate goal.
At the ATP level, it wants to host an important tournament and, skipping the 250 and 500, it aims for a
Masters 1000
.
There are versions that claim that he has already begun negotiating to take over the license for the Madrid or Miami event, which would mean a huge blow to the calendar.
In addition, the Saudi "empire" would also be very close to signing an agreement with the WTA to host the
WTA Finals
, the season-ending tournament of the women's tour, which still has no confirmed venue for 2024. A possibility that many important names of tennis - such as
Martina Navratilova
and
Chris Evert
- do not see favorably, especially due to the culture of gender inequality installed in that country and the rejection of homosexuality.
Beyond the criticisms - which are not few -, Arabia continues to conquer more and more ground in the world of racquets, as it has also been doing for some time in football, golf, motorsports and many other sports, with petrodollars
as
collateral.
Between 2022 and 2023, it allocated 10 percent of its GDP to sports projects, just over 4,000 million euros.
And it has another 6.6 billion to invest by 2030, in order to increasingly consolidate itself as a power in the global sports business.