Six Kings Slam Postponed to December Following Saudi Airport Attack

The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament, originally set to take place in Saudi Arabia from October 21 to 24, has been postponed until December 27-30, according to organizers who announced the change Wednesday. Despite recent weeks appearing to indicate the tournament would proceed as planned, the decision to reschedule was made following an attack at Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday which left 12 people dead.

The King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remains closed as a result of the incident. The announcement stated that Riyadh Season is committed to delivering sporting events to the highest standards, and the postponement reflects the assessment of the organizational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and the potential impact on the audience experience.

Six Kings Slam, launched three years ago, offers a first prize of $6 million, more than any Grand Slam or ATP event. The tournament will feature top players including Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev, and will be broadcast on Netflix. Other events scheduled in the Middle East region are also affected by the airport attack.

Canelo Álvarez is set to fight Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on October 31 and has confirmed he will still participate, despite fears for his safety. The WWE's Crown Jewel event is scheduled for November 24 and has not announced any plans to reschedule, continuing to promote the event taking place in Saudi Arabia. Formula One is expected to make a decision on the final two races of the year, originally scheduled in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but the decision has not been made yet.

Earlier this year, F1 canceled two races in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, but later held the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.