The Six Kings Slam, a tennis exhibition that was to bring together Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, has been postponed for two months, Saudi organisers said, amid a spate of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis that has disrupted the kingdom’s sporting calendar.
Turki al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), said on Wednesday that the third edition of the Six Kings Slam had been postponed because of “organisational and logistical challenges”.
The announcement came shortly after the Saudi Pro League postponed three fixtures, including one involving Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, for “logistical considerations, taking into account the mandatory minimum rest period between matches”.
The Six Kings Slam had been scheduled for October 21 to 24 and was set to be streamed live by Netflix. The field was expected to include Alcaraz, Djokovic and Zverev alongside Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and Alex de Minaur. It will now take place from December 27 to 30.
“The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27,” al-Sheikh said on X, sharing a statement from the Riyadh Season entertainment programme.
Riyadh football fixtures moved
Earlier on Wednesday, three Saudi Pro League matches involving teams based in Riyadh were postponed. The meeting between league leaders Al Hilal and Al Riyadh, as well as the match between Al Ittihad and Al Shabab, were rescheduled for December 19. Al Ahli’s clash with Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr was moved to March 6, 2027.
The league added that the other matchweek nine fixtures “will be played according to the previously announced schedule with no changes”.
The football changes came two days after al-Sheikh promised that boxing’s world title fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Christian M’billi would go ahead this month.
Alvarez and M’billi are scheduled to meet on October 31 in the Saudi capital, which has repeatedly come under attack from Yemen’s Houthis. Al-Sheikh sought to allay doubts about the bout on Sunday.
“Canelo reached out and told me he’ll still fight in Riyadh this October, no matter what happens,” al-Sheikh wrote in a social media post. “He [Alvarez] fears nothing.”
Missile interception delayed AFC Champions League game
On Monday, Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League match against Uzbek side Neftchi Fergana in Riyadh was delayed by an hour after the coalition announced it had intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital.
Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia have launched a counteroffensive in Yemen in recent days to retake coastal territory from the Houthis, with missile strikes on airports and energy facilities across the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s sporting programme has been heavily hit since the outbreak of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran in late February.
The Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which had been slated for April in Jeddah, was cancelled. The WTA Finals were also scheduled to be held in Riyadh next month, but will instead take place at Indian Wells in the United States.
The Six Kings Slam is now set for December 27 to 30, after organisers pushed it back from its original October dates. The new schedule places the tennis exhibition after a series of changes to football fixtures in Riyadh and the relocation of the WTA Finals to Indian Wells.
