Draper to earn £1.1m just for turning up to Saudi Six Kings Slam
Jack Draper is set to bag himself at least £1.1m after agreeing to take part in this year’s Riyadh Season Six Kings Slam.
The tennis competition, a brainchild of boxing tycoon Turki Alalshikh, sees the top six players compete in a knockout tournament in Saudi Arabia for prize money unmatched elsewhere in the sport.
Last year’s six entrants were guaranteed a minimum £1.1m for taking part while the winner – Jannik Sinner – took home a winning purse of £4.4m.
Britton Draper is one of the world’s top six players and will take part in the tennis event in the kingdom, despite his early exit from Wimbledon this month.
“[I am] proud to announce the second edition of Riyadh Season’s Six Kings Slam on October 15-18 featuring the world’s top six players in PIF ATP rankings,” Alalshikh announced on X.
“Janik Sinner will return to defend his crown against Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz.”
Six Kings Slam cash
Zverev, Draper and Fritz will compete in Six Kings Slam for the first time, replacing Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune and Rafael Nadal.
Six Kings Slam is one of many involvements Saudi Arabia has in tennis, with the Public Investment Fund part of the maternity fund on the WTA Tour while also sponsoring rankings for both the women’s tour and the ATP Tour.
British No1 Draper was unable to live up to his Wimbledon hype, entering the tournament as fourth seed but losing to Marin Cilic in the second round at the All England Club.
But he will have a chance to make up for the £3m in prize money he missed out on by going on the charge in Riyadh.
Last year’s inaugural Six Kings Slam began with four of the six competitors taking part in the first round – Medvedev, Sinner, Rune and Alcaraz – before the winners took on Djokovic and Nadal in the last four.
The winners of the semi-finals competed for the mega £4.4m prize in the final, which was broadcast on Dazn – which this year confirmed Saudi investment in the form of Surj Sports Investments.