Six Kings Slam 2026 · Riyadh · 21, 22 and 24 October
Both of Novak Djokovic's Riyadh semi-finals went to Jannik Sinner, and his Six Kings Slam ledger reads 1-3.
SerbiaLast reviewed 5 September 2026 Sources
AT A GLANCE
CAREER
Out in the first round on 31 August 2026 to Mariano Navone 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The tournament runs to 13 September 2026 and is in progress, read on 5 September 2026.
in progress until 13 September
Ranking and points are the ATP release of Monday 31 August 2026. The season and career figures were read on 5 September 2026, with the US Open still in progress.
Four matches in Riyadh have brought Novak Djokovic one win. A bye carried him to the semi-final in 2024 and again in 2025, under the rule that rewards the two men holding the most Grand Slam titles, and Jannik Sinner won both of those semi-finals. The single win is the third-place match of 19 October 2024 against Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 7-6(5), the last meeting the two men ever played. A year later he lost the opening set of the third-place match to Taylor Fritz, 7-6(4), and retired. The ledger reads one win and three defeats. The Six Kings Slam is an exhibition and the ATP does not count it, so none of those four matches sits in his official record or in his head-to-head with Sinner.
On 1 February 2026 he lost the Australian Open final to Carlos Alcaraz, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5, having reached it at 38 years and 255 days, the oldest man to play that final in the Open Era. He had beaten Sinner in the semi-final over five sets, the best result of his season. On 31 August 2026 Mariano Navone beat him in the first round of the US Open. That ended 78 straight first-round wins at the majors and was his first such defeat since the 2006 Australian Open. The ATP card read 14 wins and 6 defeats on 5 September 2026, a count that stops at Cincinnati and leaves out the US Open, which runs to 13 September 2026.
Sinner leads 7-5 in official ATP meetings, read on 5 September 2026, and has won both of their Riyadh semi-finals. The exception is the Australian Open semi-final of 2026, which Djokovic took 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Whether they meet again in Riyadh rests on a draw that has not been published. In 2024 and 2025 the byes went to the two men holding the most Grand Slam titles, which is how he skipped the quarter-finals in both Octobers; with 24 majors he is first in that queue again. Nothing about the 2026 order is official as of 5 September 2026.
Official ATP meetings, on the ATP's own count. It includes Davis Cup, United Cup, ATP Cup and Laver Cup rubbers, and it lists walkovers without counting them. A retirement counts and is printed with its marker. The Six Kings Slam is an exhibition, it never enters the number, and its matches are listed separately.
Tour-level results, read 5 September 2026.
These two controls scroll the results rail by one event. The rail also scrolls with the arrow keys.
The return of serve. Across his career he has won 31.5 per cent of return games, the best figure among active players on ATP Infosys data published on 5 July 2026. On an indoor hard court, where the ball arrives at a constant height, that weapon is worth more, not less.
The return that defines him has thinned this year. The ATP 2026 stats page, read on 5 September 2026, has him winning 20 per cent of return games against the 31.5 per cent of his career, while his service games held at 86 per cent, near his career 86.1 per cent. The harder column is the body: a medical timeout in the Cincinnati heat on 15 August 2026, then a five-set first-round defeat at the US Open on 31 August 2026 that ran past four hours.
Indoors on hard court he has more history than anyone. Seven titles at the ATP Finals, all of them indoor, and seven at the Paris Masters, where his match record is 50 wins and 9 defeats. His 72 hard-court titles are the most any man has won. Riyadh is played in a closed arena on hard court.
“Riyadh has always given me a fantastic welcome, and it's great to be back once again. Six Kings Slam has become a special event on the tennis calendar, and I'm looking forward to competing in front of the fans this October.”
Novak DjokovicIn the announcement of the 2026 field, 28 July 202628 July 2026arabnews.pk
“Don't leave tennis man. Stay a little more. Stay with us.”
Novak DjokovicTo Rafael Nadal on court in Riyadh after the third-place match of the 2024 edition, their last meeting, as transcribed by the Jordan Times19 October 2024jordantimes.com
“I didn't enjoy myself. I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me.”
Novak DjokovicIn the press conference after his first-round defeat at the US Open, 31 August 202631 August 2026si.com
Early booking through the tournament page
No on-sale date, no prices and no night assignments have been published for Six Kings Slam 2026 as of 5 September 2026. Ask for a notification and Arena will send it the day the on-sale date is announced.
He was announced in the field on 28 July 2026, for the nights of 21, 22 and 24 October in Riyadh. No player has a night assigned to him, because the draw has not been published as of 5 September 2026.
One win and three defeats across the 2024 and 2025 editions. The win is the third-place match of 19 October 2024 against Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 7-6(5).
Sinner leads 7-5 in official ATP meetings, read on 5 September 2026. The last of them was the Wimbledon semi-final of 10 July 2026, which Sinner won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 5 with 3,770 points on the ATP release of 31 August 2026. The list moves again after the US Open finishes on 13 September 2026.
No on-sale date has been announced as of 5 September 2026, and no prices have been published. The three nights are 21, 22 and 24 October 2026.
SOURCES AND REVIEW DATE
Facts on this page were reviewed on 5 September 2026 from the ATP Tour, the official tournaments and the press reports linked below. Rankings refresh after the US Open on 14 September, and again at the draw.
Cropped, background-isolated photographs from Wikimedia Commons:
Jannik Sinner
Alexander Zverev
Carlos Alcaraz
Alex de Minaur
Taylor Fritz
