Alcaraz to play Vienna ATP 500 after Six Kings Slam postponement in Saudi Arabia

Carlos Alcaraz lost to Zizou Bergs in the third round of the Shanghai Masters earlier in October. | Photo Credit: AFP

World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz will compete at the Vienna ATP 500 tournament later this month following the postponement of the lucrative Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia, organisers confirmed on Thursday.

The Spaniard was added to the Vienna field after tournament director Herwig Straka contacted his management on Wednesday, shortly after reports emerged that the Saudi exhibition would be moved to December.

Straka said the discussions progressed quickly and Alcaraz agreed to participate without much hesitation, describing his inclusion as a significant boost for the tournament.

The Six Kings Slam, originally scheduled for October 21 to 24 and set to be streamed live on Netflix, was postponed following deadly attacks carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia. Organisers have rescheduled the event for December 27 to 30.

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The Vienna tournament, an indoor hard-court ATP 500 event beginning on October 26, will also feature US Open champion Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur and Learner Tien, who had initially planned to compete in both tournaments.

Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe are among the other leading players confirmed for the Austrian event.

Alcaraz will be making his second appearance in Vienna, having reached the semifinals on his tournament debut in 2021.

The former world No. 1 has experienced mixed results since returning from a lengthy injury layoff at the US Open in August. He claimed the Tokyo title in September but suffered a straight-sets defeat to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Monday.