WTA Finals move to Indian Wells as Six Kings Slam is postponed

The 2026 WTA Finals will be held at Indian Wells in the United States rather than Saudi Arabia, while the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh has been postponed until December, BBC Sport reported. The tennis changes are among several disruptions to the sporting calendar during the conflict in the Middle East.

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The women's season-ending championship, due this weekend, was moved after a mutual agreement to end the Saudi hosting arrangement early. BBC Sport reported that the Finals would instead take place at Indian Wells. That change is a relocation, unlike the delay announced for the separate men's exhibition event in Riyadh.

The Six Kings Slam had been scheduled to begin on Saturday but has been pushed back by two months to 27-30 December. Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Learner Tien are due to participate. The venue remains the ANB Arena, approximately 31 kilometres from King Khalid International Airport, which was attacked on 10 October.

Golf has also been affected. The PIF Saudi International, the Asian Tour's season-ending event, will not take place at Riyadh Golf Club on its planned dates of 18-21 November. According to the BBC report, the decision followed an assessment of the organisational and logistical difficulties involved in staging the tournament.

Other events have been called off rather than given new dates in the report. This week's UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Riyadh, featuring trials and BMX Freestyle, were cancelled, with a decision on the sporting consequences still pending. The FIFAe Finals esports series, which had been due in Jeddah last month, was also cancelled.

On Tuesday, the Professional Triathletes Organisation announced a revised schedule for two more competitions. The Saudi Arabia T100 and World Triathlon Cup in Jeddah were moved from the end of this month to 16-17 April.

Football's calendar has changed too, although the Saudi Pro League has not attributed its latest postponements to the conflict. This weekend's entire league round was called off following the Asian Cup postponement. The league said it was adjusting the calendar to distribute fixtures more evenly, a distinction from the wider security concerns surrounding events in the region.