The latest Six Kings Slam is approaching, but doubts remain over whether the Saudi Arabian exhibition will be held as planned amid the region’s ongoing political crisis.

Jannik Sinner collected $6.5million for a second straight year after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic final last year, and both players are again on the entry list for the 2026 edition. The event is scheduled for October 21, 22 and 24, with live coverage set for Netflix.

That schedule now sits against a difficult backdrop. Several major sporting events in the region have already been cancelled as military exchanges between the USA and Iran continue, while Formula 1 Grand Prix races have also been postponed or moved in recent months. With tensions having risen again in recent days, the Six Kings Slam is not immune from concern.

Sinner, Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur make up the line-up for the exhibition, and each player is guaranteed a significant appearance fee. The financial scale of the event is part of what has made it such a prominent fixture, but the decision on whether it proceeds may depend on the players’ willingness to travel.

That question may not be straightforward. Sinner and Alcaraz have spoken warmly about their Saudi hosts in recent years, yet any final call will likely be shaped by how the situation develops over the next couple of weeks.

Sinner arrives after following his 2025 US Open final defeat to Alcaraz by beating the Spaniard in last year’s Six Kings Slam decider, a result that preceded a strong finish to the season, including victory at the ATP Finals. Alcaraz, meanwhile, will be looking to continue his comeback in an event that could also feature Djokovic for the last time, after the Serbian hinted he may need to rethink his future plans following a first-round US Open defeat.

With the conflict showing no clear sign of resolution and settlement talks appearing to have stalled, any further escalation would put the event in even greater jeopardy.

Alexandra Eala has emerged as one of the WTA Tour’s most notable breakthrough stories in 2026, with her strongest surge coming during the North American hardcourt swing.

Her season reached a new level when she captured her first WTA Tour title at the Washington Open this summer. Not long after that milestone, she advanced to the third round of the US Open for the first time. Her record elsewhere this year has also underlined the breadth of her progress, with runs to the fourth round of Wimbledon, the semi finals of the Berlin Open, and the quarter finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Eala’s results have not been limited to the main tour. She has also maintained a perfect record for the Philippines in Billie Jean King Cup play. The 21-year-old has appeared in four matches for her country in the competition and won all four, helping the Philippines defeat Qatar, Nepal, Guam, and Laos in the Group III Asia/Oceania division.

She has not played the Billie Jean King Cup since 2024, so there appears to be little immediate danger to that flawless record.

National representation will return to the forefront soon, though, as Eala is due to represent the Philippines at the 2026 Asian Games in the near future. She has chosen that commitment over the China Open in September and October, the final Masters tournament on the WTA Tour calendar.

Her past record for the Philippines at the Asian Games and the SEA Games has already been decorated. She has earned five bronze medals at the SEA Games and won gold in singles at the 2025 Games in Thailand, becoming the first Filipina woman to take a tennis gold medal since 1999, when Maricris Fernandez did so.

Eala also has two Asian Games bronze medals, in singles and mixed doubles, both from the 2022 edition in Hangzhou.

Before the Asian Games, she will begin her WTA Tour Asian swing at the Singapore Open, a WTA 500 event scheduled for September 21 to 27.

Aryna Sabalenka arrives at the US Open as the world No. 1 and a two-time defending champion, yet the conversation around this year’s title has shifted toward other names. While she owns a strong recent record at Flushing Meadows, the balance of opinion is leaning toward Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka has been nearly unbeatable in New York over the past three seasons, going 19-1 at the tournament. She lifted the trophy in 2024 and 2025, and in 2023 she finished runner-up to Gauff. But despite appearing in three major finals in 2025, expectations around her dominance have softened.

Her season started strongly. After finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open, she put together an excellent Sunshine Double in March by winning both Indian Wells and Miami. Since then, however, her results have dipped. She exited in the quarter-finals at the French Open and in the fourth round at Wimbledon, then opened the North American hard-court swing with round of 16 losses in both Canada and Cincinnati.

During an ESPN media conference call, commentator and former world No 4 Mary Joe Fernandez said: “For the women, Sabalenka is going for a three-peat. She hasn’t reached a final since winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back. She struggled a bit winning the big points. She’s lost a couple big leads in some events. So, she’s vulnerable,” she told ESPN.

Fernandez pointed instead to Gauff, saying, “I thought Coco Gauff played exceptional tennis in Cincinnati. She played well in Canada, as well. To me she’s the one that’s playing the best tennis. You have [Jessica] Pegula, [Elena] Rybakina if she’s healthy, who reached the finals in Canada. [Alex] Eala was outstanding in Washington. She beat a lot of top players there.”

Gauff reached the semi-final in Toronto before winning Cincinnati, while Pegula was runner-up in Washington DC and Cincinnati. Rybakina was runner-up to Swiatek in Canada and made the quarter-finals in Ohio before retiring with a leg injury, and Eala won the Citi DC Open.

Swiatek also arrives with momentum after winning Toronto and reaching the semi-finals in Cincinnati. Patrick McEnroe summed up the field by saying: “I would go with Iga Swiatek on the women’s. I think she is [my] favourite. I like the way she’s playing. She is playing with a little bit more margin, not quite as offensive, which I think is actually very good for her. That’s sort of why I’m picking her.

“I don’t think she’s the [overall] favourite. It would probably be Sabalenka. I think Mary Joe is spot on about Coco, in Cincinnati looked great the last couple matches.

“I’m not going to say it’s wide open on the women’s side, but there’s probably six to eight players that could win it.”