The first day of the Six Kings Slam has been a shame

Jose Morón | 15 Oct 2025 | 22.35

The first day of the Six Kings Slam has been a disappointment

Streaming Challenger Mauthausen live tennis

🎾 Mika Brunold vs Georgii Kravchenko

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

There were many people eagerly anticipating the first day of this Six Kings Slam after last year's success, where Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune put on a show. However, what unfolded on this first day of competition has been a real disgrace.

Similar to 2024, the first day was a flash in the pan. While last year saw good semifinals and a final between Alcaraz and Sinner overshadow what happened with a physically affected Medvedev and a subpar Rune, this year Arabs hoped for a different outcome. Not only was it not different, but it got worse.

In advance, everyone knew several participants this year were nursing injuries. One of them, Zverev, who admitted after the Asian tour that he was struggling with back problems. The German offered no resistance today against Fritz, who easily secured the victory. Sascha's performance was very poor; he only showed up at the event because each player is guaranteed one and a half million just for appearing in Riyadh. With that paycheck, who would decline, no matter how unfit they are physically.

But the worst was yet to come, with Stefanos Tsitsipas invited to the event due to Jack Draper's absence. Many were surprised by the Greek's invitation, as he hasn't won two matches in a row since April and arrived with a serious back issue. In fact, Stefanos withdrew from Shanghai due to his back problems, wanting to be in the best shape possible for this event to avoid withdrawing. Tsitsipas had to receive medical attention for his troubled back at the end of the match.

An Embarrassing First Day at the Six Kings Slam 2025

Things could get worse if Novak Djokovic, this Thursday, also can't compete at his best against Sinner. The Serbian finished Shanghai with shoulder, lumbar, hip, adductor, and ankle issues. That's quite a list. It's likely that the Italian will win comfortably, as happened on Wednesday against Tsitsipas, leading to another day of uneventful matches.

The audience is not foolish and won't tolerate watching matches where players are unfit or not giving their all. If this occasionally happens in the ATP tour, imagine if it occurs in an exhibition, where participants already have a guaranteed one and a half million check.

The format could be different; it's illogical for Tsitsipas to earn the same money as Djokovic by finishing third or fourth, or as Sinner or Alcaraz, the second-place finisher. Introducing a prize distribution based on rounds could make this fairer, as well as inviting fit players with better records than some present.

What happened on this first day at the Six Kings Slam 2025 doesn't inspire hope or engage those who missed these initial matches. I would understand if they did. We want competitiveness and more than just watching the Arabs squander money without regard for whether a player is fit to compete. Perhaps a great Alcaraz-Sinner final could save it, they hope, but if it doesn't materialize, many will lose interest in the event for future editions.