Six Kings Slam moved to December after deadly Riyadh attacks

The Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition in Riyadh has been postponed until December 27-30 after deadly attacks on the Saudi capital, BBC Sport reported. The event had been scheduled to begin on October 21 and run for three days, with Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev among the players expected to compete.

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Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Learner Tien were also listed for the exhibition's third edition. Jannik Sinner won last year's tournament. The change moves the event out of its planned October slot, with organisers announcing new dates after the original staging had come into serious doubt following the weekend attacks.

According to the BBC, Yemen's Houthi movement launched strikes on Saudi Arabia, including a missile attack on Riyadh's airport on Saturday that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Oil and gas facilities were also targeted. The Six Kings Slam venue, ANB Arena, is in northern Riyadh, around 31 kilometres from King Khalid International Airport.

In a statement to BBC Sport, the organisers framed the postponement around an assessment of the practical difficulties of holding the tournament and the effect those difficulties could have on spectators' experience. They said the decision reflected Riyadh Season's commitment to staging high-standard sporting events. Their explanation focused on organisation and logistics, while the BBC reported the wider security circumstances surrounding the change.

Football fixtures have also been moved. Three Saudi Pro League games were postponed on Tuesday, with Al-Riyadh against Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad against Al-Shabab rescheduled for December. Al-Nassr's away match against Al-Ahli has been shifted to March. The league attributed those changes to logistical factors. On Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Al-Nassr in an AFC Champions League game that began an hour late because of a missile alert.

Golf organisers are assessing the situation too, although no postponement of their event was reported. The Asian Tour's season-ending PIF Saudi International remains scheduled for November 18-21 at Riyadh Golf Club. In comments to Reuters carried by the BBC, the tour said it was monitoring developments and discussing the November tournament with its partner Golf Saudi.