Sinner, Fritz say $6 million top prize at Six Kings Grand Slam exhibition provides motivation
Some tennis fans wonder why top players who complain about the sport’s crowded schedule would add in-season exhibition events like the Six Kings Grand Slam, which begins Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, to their schedules.
Taylor Fritz can think of a million reasons. Well, 6 million to be exact.
“I hope they can show me a tournament where you can play three tournaments – well, two tournaments for the top two seeds – and potentially make $6 million,” Fritz said in a video interview from Riyadh on Tuesday, crossing his arms. “I’d love to hear what they have to say.”
Fritz is one of six men scheduled to compete in the second Six Kings Slam. Among them is Jannik Sinner, who is back a year ago after taking home a check for the biggest prize in Saudi Arabia – more than any real tournament offers to the winner. The U.S. Open recently set a Grand Slam record by paying $5 million to the women’s and men’s singles champions.
The event is a major step forward in recent developments in tennis for the Kingdom (and vice versa), including the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the ATP Next Gen Finals in Jeddah and the Public Investment Fund’s sponsorship of the tour rankings. Hall of Famers Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have been critical of the sport’s ties to Saudi Arabia because of their concerns about LGBTQ+ and women’s rights there.
Each player in the Six Kings Grand Slam is reportedly guaranteed a $1.5 million appearance fee; the last winner will receive a bonus, making his total prize money four times that of the live event on Netflix.
“We don’t want to hide money. We know how much is at stake here, and it would be a lie if I told you that wasn’t motivation,” Sinner said. He won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year and finished runner-up to rival Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open and U.S. Open. “Every player here is going to try to win as many games as possible. It’s just like any other exhibition game – except there’s a lot more motivation here.”
Sinner withdrew from his most recent tournament, the Shanghai Masters 1 1/2 weeks ago, with severe leg cramps. But he said Tuesday he was fine.
“I recovered. We took a few days off and now we’re ready for the rest of the season,” Sinner said. He noted that he has yet to decide whether to help Italy win a third consecutive Davis Cup title next month. “I’m in good spirits… and will give 100 percent effort.”
He will face Stefano Tsitsipas on day one, when Fritz will face Alexander Zverev. The winner of Fritz Zverev will face Alcaraz on Thursday, and the winner of Sinner Tsitsipas will face Novak Djokovic. After a break on Friday, the semi-final winners will play each other on Saturday to conclude the tournament.
Djokovic has a men’s record 24 Grand Slam trophies, Alcaraz has six and Sinner has four; each is also ranked No. 1.
Fritz finished runner-up to Sinner at the 2024 U.S. Open. Zverev has reached three Grand Slam finals, including losing to Sinner at this year’s Australian Open and Alcaraz at last year’s French Open.
