Saudi Arabia postpones Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition to 27-30 December after Houthi attacks

Postponement announced

Riyadh Season, the organiser of the exhibition, announced on Wednesday, 14 October that the third edition of the Six Kings Slam would move from 21-24 October to 27-30 December. The communiqué was shared on X by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority. The organisers pointed to organisational and logistical challenges and their possible effect on the quality of the audience experience, and they hope the event can still take place in late December. The Independent reports that the final is now scheduled for 30 December 2026. The six-player exhibition, which is not part of the ATP tour, offers a $6m overall prize and was set to feature Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and Alex de Minaur. Jannik Sinner, a two-time champion, has confirmed he will miss the rest of the 2026 season with a knee injury, after beating Alcaraz in last year's final.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Yemen's Houthi movement, which is backed by Iran, launched attacks on Saudi Arabia over the weekend. A missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, 10 October killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, according to the BBC. The Independent put the death toll at at least 14, so the two counts differ. Oil and gas facilities were also targeted, and Saudi Arabia's energy minister vowed a serious response. Le Soir links the fighting in Yemen, where the Houthis face government forces backed by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, to the war between the United States and Iran that began at the end of February.

Wider sporting fallout

Other events have also been hit. On Tuesday, 13 October, three Saudi Pro League fixtures were postponed, one of them involving Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, while six other matches go ahead. The league cited logistical considerations and the rest time needed between matches, since closed airports mean long bus journeys to away games. The Asian Tour is monitoring the security situation ahead of the Saudi International in Riyadh in November. The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah was cancelled in April, as was the race in Bahrain, and the final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi could also be affected. The WTA Finals will be held from 8 to 15 November at Indian Wells in the United States instead of Riyadh, after the third year of the Riyadh agreement was postponed over safety concerns.

Timeline and what comes next

The sequence runs from the airport strike on Saturday, 10 October to the football postponements on Tuesday, 13 October and Riyadh Season's announcement on Wednesday, 14 October. The chart below sets these beats alongside the tournament's original and rescheduled dates.

The rescheduled exhibition is set for 27-30 December, with the final on 30 December 2026. Tennis's 2027 season opens in Australia on 1 January, and the Australian Open begins on 17 January. The Independent reports that a new ATP Masters 100 event after the Australian Open could bring men's tennis back to Saudi Arabia as early as 2028.