Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition in Riyadh postponed to 27-30 December

Organisers have postponed the Six Kings Slam, a tennis exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will now be held from 27 to 30 December.

The postponement was announced on Wednesday, 14 October. The event had been due to begin on 21 October. It would have been the tournament's third edition. Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and Alex de Minaur were due to take part. According to BBC Sport, Jannik Sinner won the tournament last year.

Organisers cited organisational and logistical reasons. Al Jazeera quoted Turki al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, as writing on X: "The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27."

The organisers' quoted statements do not mention the recent attacks or security. Al Jazeera, BBC Sport and Reuters report the decision after a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera and BBC Sport attribute the attacks to Yemen's Houthis. Reuters calls the attacks a major security concern but does not attribute them. Airports and energy facilities were among the targets. BBC Sport describes the Houthis as Iran-backed. According to BBC Sport, a missile strike on Riyadh's airport on Saturday killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. The reports do not name the source of those figures. BBC Sport says the event's venue, the ANB Arena, is about 31km from King Khalid International Airport.

Three Saudi Pro League fixtures were also moved. Al Hilal vs Al Riyadh and Al Ittihad vs Al Shabab were moved to December, and Al-Ahli vs Al-Nassr to March. According to Al Jazeera, the new dates are 19 December and 6 March 2027. On Monday, Al-Nassr's AFC Champions League match in Riyadh was delayed by an hour in connection with a missile threat.

According to Al Jazeera, the WTA Finals will move from Riyadh to Indian Wells in the United States. Al Jazeera also reports that a boxing title fight between Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Christian M'billi is scheduled for 31 October in Riyadh.

What is disputed

Al Jazeera says the football fixtures were postponed on Wednesday; BBC Sport says Tuesday. Al Jazeera gives the original tennis dates as 21-24 October; BBC Sport describes a three-day event starting on 21 October.

What each side says

• The Six Kings Slam organisers (Riyadh Season) said in a statement to BBC Sport that the decision followed "an assessment of the organizational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and their potential impact on the quality of the audience experience".
• The Saudi Pro League cited "logistical considerations, taking into account the mandatory minimum rest period between matches", according to Al Jazeera.
• Al-Sheikh wrote that Alvarez told him he will still fight in Riyadh in October. The reports include no statement from Alvarez, M'billi or promoters.
• Saudi Arabia's energy minister vowed a 'serious' response, according to BBC Sport.
• The reports reviewed by Vocemundi include no statement from the Houthis.

Analysis

The organisers' statements and the outlets' framing point in different directions. Organisers cite logistics; the reports place the decision alongside recent attacks. Readers should weigh both. Several questions remain open. The reports do not say whether all six players will play in December, or whether Netflix, which Al Jazeera says was to stream the event, will still do so. Other events in the kingdom, including the boxing bout and the Asian Tour's PIF Saudi International, may face similar decisions. The Asian Tour says it is discussing the November event with Golf Saudi. Outcomes may depend on how the security situation develops, which remains uncertain.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.