Jack Draper just ended his 2025 season early, which throws a pretty big wrench into the 2025 Six Kings Slam plans.
The Six Kings Slam is this massive exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It first happened in 2024 and honestly, the money involved is pretty amazing.
$13.5 million total prize money. Just for showing up, players get $1.5 million each. The winner? A whopping $6 million – the biggest single prize in tennis history.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Draper | 23 | 1,131 | 13 - 12 |
The tournament’s coming back this October, running from the 15th to 18th right after the Shanghai Masters. Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi sports promoter behind the whole thing, announced it back in July.
He basically took a screenshot of the ATP rankings and said "these six guys are our kings." That was Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper, Taylor Fritz, and Novak Djokovic – the top six players at the time.
But now there’s a problem.
Draper pulled out of everything after dealing with an injury. He’s done for the season, which makes his Six Kings Slam appearance pretty unlikely.
Here’s the thing though – the Six Kings Slam isn’t an official ATP event. So technically, the organizers could still expect him to show up. But would he really want to risk making his injury worse for one match?
Then again, we’re talking about $1.5 million for potentially one match. Draper’s made about $8.3 million in his entire career, so this would be more than a sixth of his total earnings.
That’s a tough call for anyone.
If Draper does bow out, there are three obvious candidates to replace him.
3. Joao Fonseca
Joao Fonseca might seem like a long shot, but hear me out. The 19-year-old Brazilian is already a superstar with a massive fanbase.
Sure, he doesn’t have the resume of the other guys yet. But with the original lineup already messed up, he’d be a crowd-pleaser for sure.
There’s one small issue – Fonseca’s currently entered in the European Open in Brussels, which happens during the same week. But let’s be real, for $1.5 million (roughly what he’s made in his entire career), he’d probably be willing to change his travel plans.
2. Holger Rune
Holger Rune makes more sense on paper. He actually played in last year’s event, so the organizers clearly like him.
He was the only non-Grand Slam champion they picked for 2024, which shows they see something special in him. Currently ranked 11th in the world, he’s still one of the most exciting young talents on tour.
But there’s one guy who’s an even bigger favorite – assuming his own injury issues don’t get in the way.
1. Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton is the obvious choice here. If the organizers really want to stick with their "top six players" concept, the current rankings tell the whole story.
Right now, it’s Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev, Djokovic, Fritz, and Shelton in the top six. Shelton literally replaced Draper in those rankings.
Plus, he’s already an ATP Masters 1000 champion, so he’s got the credentials. And if you think about it, swapping one lefty with a big serve for another lefty with a big serve seems pretty fair.
The organizers get to keep their original concept intact while bringing in someone who’s clearly earned his spot.
For now, nobody knows if Draper will actually skip the event or try to play through whatever’s bothering him. But here’s the thing – he gave up his chance to compete at the ATP Finals for the first time in his career when he ended his season early.
If he’s willing to miss that milestone, it’d be pretty surprising to see him risk it all for an exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
