عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Djokovic, Nadal to Headline ‘Six Kings Slam’ at Riyadh Season 

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
TT
TT

Djokovic, Nadal to Headline ‘Six Kings Slam’ at Riyadh Season 

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

Saudi Arabia will host a new elite tennis exhibition featuring Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal with three other Grand Slam winners in October, the country's General Entertainment Authority has announced.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune will also play at the “Six Kings Slam”, which will form part of the Saudi cultural and entertainment festival Riyadh Season, organizers said.

With Sinner having recently won the Australian Open, Dane Rune is the only player on the six-man roster without a Grand Slam title.

Spaniard Nadal, who signed up as an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation last month, said he was looking forward to the event.

"After some other tennis players have done so, I am very excited to play for the first time in Riyadh," the 22-times Grand Slam champion said in the press release.

Saudi Arabia will also host the season-ending Next Gen Finals for men's under-21 players in Jeddah from 2023 to 2027, the ATP announced last August.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Too Many Games - Pique Joins Chorus of Discontent at Fixture List

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Osasuna v FC Barcelona - El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain - November 8, 2022 FC Barcelona's Gerard Pique during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Osasuna v FC Barcelona - El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain - November 8, 2022 FC Barcelona's Gerard Pique during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
TT
TT

Too Many Games - Pique Joins Chorus of Discontent at Fixture List

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Osasuna v FC Barcelona - El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain - November 8, 2022 FC Barcelona's Gerard Pique during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Osasuna v FC Barcelona - El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain - November 8, 2022 FC Barcelona's Gerard Pique during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Vincent West/File Photo

Football's governing bodies should not introduce new competitions and top-flight leagues should reduce the number of teams they have to ease the fixture burden on players, former Barcelona and Spain defender Gerard Pique said on Wednesday.

Pique's comments came in the same week FIFPRO Europe, the European Leagues association and Spain's LaLiga filed a joint complaint about FIFA's international match schedule to European Union antitrust regulators, according to Reuters.

FIFA has introduced a new Club World Cup featuring 32 teams from next year and has enlarged the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026. UEFA also increased the number of matchdays in the Champions League from this season and introduced the Nations League in 2018.

Pique said it was the responsibility of all football organisations to find a solution.

"There are too many games, and we are seeing now players saying 'listen, we are getting injured. There are games every three days, we don't have time to rest in summer'," the 37-year-old told The Summit, part of Leaders Week London.

"I would suggest to reduce the games," he added when asked what he would do if he were in charge of global football. "Go to the leagues and say, 'listen, instead of 20 teams, why you don't do leagues of 16 teams...

"And at the same time, I would go to UEFA and say, 'why you create this Nations League, which is the new competition that is difficult to follow' and I will go to FIFA and say, 'okay, don't do this FIFA World Cup of clubs that you created now'...

"I understand that they want to generate more revenues, but for the sake of football, I think that it could be much better to have less games, more premium and more exclusive (experiences) and it will be much easier also to follow from the audience point of view, and for players it will be less games."

Pique, who retired in 2022, won nine LaLiga titles and three Champions League crowns at Barcelona and now owns a seven-a-side football-gaming-entertainment venture.