The event was due to start on October 21 at the ANB Arena, about 30km from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. It will now run from December 27 to 30, finishing less than 48 hours before the United Cup opens the 2027 ATP season in Australia on January 1.
Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Learner Tien, the six invitees for the third edition of the Riyadh showpiece, will now fly direct from Saudi Arabia into the new season, with the Australian Open starting in Melbourne on January 17.
“Organisational and logistical challenges”
Riyadh Season framed the decision in event-management terms, with no reference to the missile attacks.
“The decision reflects Riyadh Season’s commitment to delivering sporting events to the highest standards, following an assessment of the organisational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and their potential impact on the quality of the audience experience,” the organizers said in a statement.
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Turki al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the man behind the tournament, was briefer.
“The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27,” he said.
A missile intercepted the same day
The announcement landed on the same day Saudi civil defense issued a public alert over another ballistic missile fired at Riyadh, which the Saudi-led coalition said was intercepted.
A weekend barrage of Houthi strikes on King Khalid International Airport killed 14 people and wounded more than 300. Two more died in a separate attack on Abha International Airport.
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The attacks have escalated after the collapse of a UN-brokered ceasefire that had largely held since 2022.
Netflix was due to carry it live
The exhibition pays £1.2m to each of the six players for showing up, with a further £3.5m to the winner. Netflix was set to stream the matches live for a second year running, after Jannik Sinner won the 2025 edition by beating Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner is absent from this year’s field through injury, with Tien called up in his place.
Boxing night still on
Al-Sheikh has not applied the same decision to the other blockbuster he has booked into Riyadh this month. He confirmed that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s WBC super-middleweight world title fight against Christian Mbilli will go ahead on October 31 in Riyadh, after the Mexican reached out to say he would still fight “no matter what happens”.
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