RIYADH — The Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition in Saudi Arabia has been postponed following deadly attacks on host city Riyadh, with organizers moving the star-studded event from its Oct. 21 start date to Dec. 27-30. The third edition of the lucrative exhibition, which was won by Italy's Jannik Sinner last year when the winner took home a reported £4.5m after contesting the final against Carlos Alcaraz, will no longer be held at the ANB Arena as scheduled.
The event had been in serious doubt since Yemen's Houthi movement launched attacks on Saudi Arabia at the weekend, including a missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. Saudi Arabia's energy minister vowed a "serious" response after the kingdom's oil and gas facilities were also targeted by the Iran-backed Houthis. "The decision reflects Riyadh Season's commitment to delivering sporting events to the highest standards, following an assessment of the organizational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and their potential impact on the quality of the audience experience," Six Kings Slam organizers told BBC Sport.
The field had been set to feature Grand Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, along with Australia's Alex de Minaur and American pair Taylor Fritz and Learner Tien. The ANB Arena, which hosts the Six Kings Slam, is located in the north of Riyadh about 31km away from the airport. Three Saudi Pro League fixtures were postponed on Tuesday, including one featuring Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, with the league citing "logistical considerations."
Al-Riyadh against Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad against Al-Shabab in Jeddah have been pushed back until December, while Al-Nassr's trip to Al-Ahli, also based in Jeddah, has been moved to March. On Monday, former Manchester United star Ronaldo scored for Al-Nassr in an AFC Champions League match delayed by an hour because of a missile alert. Other future sporting events could be affected by the regional conflict, including Formula 1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
In golf, the Asian Tour said it is "closely monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia" with its season-closing PIF Saudi International scheduled at Riyadh Golf Club from Nov. 18-21. "We are discussing the developing situation with our partner Golf Saudi with respect to hosting the PIF Saudi International in Riyadh in November," the tour told Reuters.