An exhibition tennis tournament featuring the world’s top men’s players has been postponed for two months by the organisers in Saudi Arabia as the country reels from a spate of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
Turki al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), said on Wednesday that the exhibition Six Kings Slam tennis tournament had been postponed due to “organisational and logistical challenges”.
The announcement came shortly after the Saudi Pro League postponed three fixtures, including one involving Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, for “logistical considerations, taking into account the mandatory minimum rest period between matches”.
The Six Kings Slam was due to hold its third edition later this month, with tennis stars including Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev due to take part alongside Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien and Alex de Minaur.
The event, originally scheduled for October 21-24 and to be streamed live by Netflix, will now take place from December 27-30.
“The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27,” al-Sheikh said on X, sharing a statement from the Riyadh Season entertainment programme.
Earlier on Wednesday, the three SPL matches involving teams based in Saudi capital Riyadh were postponed.
The meeting between league leaders Al Hilal and Al Riyadh and the match between Al Ittihad and Al Shabab have been postponed to December 19, while the clash between Al Ahli and Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr has been rescheduled for March 6, 2027.
The SPL added, however, that the other matchweek nine fixtures “will be played according to the previously announced schedule with no changes”.
The move comes two days after al-Sheikh promised that boxing’s world title fight featuring Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Christian M’billi will go ahead this month.
Alvarez vs M’billi is scheduled for October 31 in the Saudi capital, which has repeatedly come under attack from Yemen’s Houthis, but al-Sheikh sought to allay the doubts over the bout on Sunday.
“Canelo reached out and told me he’ll still fight in Riyadh this October, no matter what happens,” al-Sheikh wrote in a social media post. “He [Alvarez] fears nothing.”
On Monday, Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League match against Uzbek side Neftchi Fergana in Riyadh was delayed by an hour after the coalition announced it had intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched a counteroffensive in Yemen to retake coastal territory from the Houthis in recent days, with missile strikes on airports and energy facilities across the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s sporting programme has been heavily hit since the outbreak of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran in late February.
The Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix slated for April in Jeddah was cancelled.
The WTA Finals were also scheduled to be held in Riyadh next month, but will instead take place at Indian Wells in the US.
Source: www.aljazeera.com
