Two weeks ago, the tennis world converged on the Middle Eastern nation of Saudi Arabia for the inaugural 6 Kings Slam. So, was the tournament successful and is it here to stay?
It got people talking, and several storylines emerged from the event.
Fans were privileged to see the final match (albeit an exhibition) of the almost two-decade-long Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal rivalry. That was something ALL sports fans wanted to see, especially after Nadal announced he would retire at the end of the 2024 season days beforehand.
There was also tournament winner, world No.1 Jannik Sinner, playing out yet another hard-fought and thrilling match against four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz.
But despite the laughs, applause and respect, there’s been some criticism of the event.
Former US Open Champion Andy Roddick has been the most vocal with his concerns, saying on his podcast: "The whole event felt like something unnatural and very odd. I wasn't interested in the least."
The American legend also pointed to the incredibly high financial prize pool associated with the tournament. Sinner's triumph ensured the two-time major winner pocketed the largest prize money sum for a single event, amassing A$6 million.
Roddick expressed his annoyance at the tournament from an economic standpoint.
"It certainly irks me enormously that Sinner has earned over 25 per cent of the money I made throughout my entire career in just three days of exhibition," he said.
The 6 Kings Slam has led to many speculating that this extravagant event could become the norm moving forward. So much so, that there have already been talks of a Masters 1000 tournament coming to Saudi Arabia within the near future.
With the success of other sports in the Middle East like the Saudi Pro Football League, it is looking more likely that these events will become cemented in the yearly calendar. But is that a bad thing?
If tournament organisers possess the money to hold events with such large prize pools and boast the ability to assist ALL players (not just the top-10), why would anyone complain?
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