Does the salvation of tennis go through Saudi Arabia? The question, a bit provocative, increasingly agitates a sport in full reflection – not to say negotiations – on the future of its men's and women's professional circuits. Latest flashy illustration of the appetites of the Wahhabi kingdom for the small felt ball, the organization, in October 2024, of the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition without sporting interest, but which offered its winner more than double the money than a victory Grand Slam final.
World number 1 Jannik Sinner left Riyadh after three matches with a check for 7.5 million dollars (around 7.3 million euros), including 6 million for his only victory in the final. The kingdom did not skimp on petrodollars to offer itself a first-rate field with, in addition to the Italian, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev. Despite their elimination in the first round, the express round trip to the Gulf was juicy for the Dane and the Russian, each leaving with 1.5 million dollars (around 1.4 million euros). Enough to also make Carlos Alcaraz forget his fatigue, he who denounced, a month earlier, the infernal pace imposed by the ATP calendar.
-You have 83.16% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
