The kingdom is putting on the richest tennis exhibition in history, but its wider ambitions in the sport have contracted.

Rafael Nadal starts his pre-retirement farewell tour against Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday at the Six Kings Slam, and Novak Djokovic faces Jannik Sinner at the exhibition event that awards money but no ATP ranking points and is Saudi Arabia’s latest foray into tennis.

The exhibition tournament at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) offers the richest tennis prize money of the season

Rafael Nadal of Spain greets spectators after the semifinal match against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz at the Six K

With an eye on the Davis Cup, Rafael Nadal says he was pleased with his performance despite losing 6-3, 6-3 to Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam

Some of the world’s top male tennis players will be in action at the Six Kings Slam, a new exhibition event in Saudi Arabia. The sextet is headlined by Rafael Nadal, playing one of his final tournaments as he prepares to bow out of the sport after the Davis Cup finals on home soil at the end of November.

TV channel: The match between Alcaraz and Nadal will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Tennis, with coverage getting underway at 7:30pm BST. Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers will also be able to watch on a live stream online via the Sky Go app, while DAZN will be streaming the match for free.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Jannik Sinner of Italy during their semifinal match at the Six Kings Sl

Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday at the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event for a half-dozen men that awards money but no ATP ranking points and is Saudi Arabia's latest foray into tennis.

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner meet for the second time in a matter of days in the semi-finals of the new Six Kings Slam tennis tournament this evening. The high-profile duo also went head to head in the final of the Shanghai Masters in China last weekend,