Six Kings Slam draw drops with Alcaraz and Djokovic as seeds – Who gets the $6 million?

The Six Kings Slam is approaching, and the draw has been released, featuring Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the top. The exhibition tournament, held in Riyadh, will have its second edition between October 15, 16, and 18 during the Riyadh Season and boasts a massive prize purse of $13.5 million to be distributed among the ATP stars participating in the event.

There are six participants, with two seeded players who will start their run in the semifinals: none other than the 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and the six-time major champion—and World No. 1—Alcaraz. Both will receive a first-round bye, waiting to learn their opponents for the second day of competition.

The Six Kings Slam went down in history in 2024 as the tournament with the largest historical prize money ever awarded to a single tennis player, with $6 million going to the champion—on that occasion, Jannik Sinner. The tournament also guarantees an incredible $1.5 million participation fee—higher, for example, than the $1.2 million given to the US Open semifinalists and similar to the $1.5 million received by the Wimbledon runner-up. All this is just for appearing in the first round.

In addition to Alcaraz (No. 1) and Djokovic (No. 5), the tournament features Sinner (No. 2)—the three players who are repeating their participation from 2024. This year also sees the addition of Germany's Alexander Zverev (No. 3), American Taylor Fritz (No. 4), and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 27)—the latter replacing the injured Jack Draper.

The draw was recently announced, with the two first-day quarterfinals already determined. In the top half of the draw, debutants Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev will face off for a spot in the semifinals. This is a growing rivalry that sees the American leading the head-to-head 9-5, with their most recent encounter just a week ago at the Laver Cup, where Fritz's victory secured the title for Team World. The winner will face Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.

In the bottom half of the draw, defending champion Jannik Sinner will return, facing the most surprising name in the draw: former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has recently been far from the results that catapulted him to be a regular Top 5 player for five years. With nine previous encounters, the 27-year-old Greek leads the head-to-head 6-3, including a victory in the Monte-Carlo 2024 semifinals, making him one of only five players to have beaten Sinner in the last two years. The winner will face the legendary Djokovic in the semifinals.

The 2024 edition set a record for the largest single prize ever awarded in a tennis tournament—considering exhibitions and official events—surpassing even the prize money of the Grand Slams that season. Sinner took home a total of $6 million for his 2024 final victory over Carlos Alcaraz, which remains the largest prize in history. It surpassed the $4.7 million from the 2022 ATP Finals.

Only this year at the US Open—following a significant increase in prize money—did the official champion, Alcaraz, receive $5 million, making it the highest prize for an official tournament and the second overall, behind the Six Kings Slam.

Back in 2024, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune were present—both eliminated in the first round—as was the 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal, who made one of his final professional appearances. The legendary Spaniard faced Djokovic in the third-place match, marking the last time Nadal and Djokovic stood across the tennis court from each other, albeit in an unofficial tournament.