The kingdom is putting on the richest tennis exhibition in history, but its wider ambitions in the sport have contracted.

Rafael Nadal starts his pre-retirement farewell tour against Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday at the Six Kings Slam.

Nadal will skip the quarter-final round at the Six Kings Slam and battle against Carlos Alcaraz or Holger Rune in the semi-final. The 22-time Major champion will end his career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga between November 19-24, competing in the national jersey two decades after debuting.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have joined Rafael Nadal for the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh. The highly-anticipated event will also feature Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev.

Tennis fans have blasted the new lucrative Six Kings Slam tournament in Saudi Arabia, insisting that it is ‘unwatchable’ and a ‘disaster’ due to one major difference… the camera angle. The six-player exhibition event got underway on Wednesday with Rafael Nadal,

Full fixtures, results and timings for this blockbuster exhibition tournament, featuring some of the biggest names to ever grace the sport

The bizarre camera angle showing the Six Kings Slam left tennis fans baffled with many voicing their displeasure on social media. People watching from home bemoaned the high angle of the camera as Daniil Medvedev took on Jannik Sinner in Saudi Arabia.