Carlos Alcaraz has been added to the line-up for the Vienna ATP event, the organisers said on Thursday, after a Saudi Arabian exhibition was cancelled. The world number three will now compete in the Austrian tournament, which said he agreed to join at short notice.
Organisers said that once reports emerged on Wednesday that the Six Kings Slam would be pushed back to the end of December, tournament director Herwig Straka contacted the player’s management immediately. Straka said events moved quickly and that Alcaraz accepted without much hesitation. “His commitment is a tremendous honour for our tournament,” he said.
Six Kings Slam moved after attacks on the kingdom
The Six Kings Slam, originally set for October 21-24 and due to be streamed live by Netflix, was postponed after Yemen’s Houthis carried out deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia. Organisers now hope to stage it on December 27-30.
Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur and Learner Tien had already planned to play in Saudi Arabia and then in Vienna, which begins on October 26.
Alcaraz’s form and the Vienna field
Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe are also among the top-10 players announced for the indoor, hard-court ATP 500 event. Alcaraz had played in Vienna only once before, in 2021, when he reached the semi-finals.
The former world number one has been inconsistent since returning from a long injury layoff at the US Open at the end of August. He won in Tokyo in September but was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters in the third round, losing in straight sets to Zizou Bergs on Monday.
