Learner Tien is set to make some bank in Saudi Arabia later this month after being named as Jannik Sinner’s replacement at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh.
The 20-year-old American is an intriguing choice for the six-player event, particularly given that several higher-ranked players, including compatriot Ben Shelton, could have been selected to fill the vacancy left by the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Tien will join Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in the field for the third edition of the event, which will take place October 21, 22 and 24.
The American is scheduled to face De Minaur in his opening match, with a potential semifinal against Djokovic awaiting the winner.
Tien is an interesting choice given his current ranking of No.17, given that there are numerous players inside the Top 10 that might have jumped at the chance, such as Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils and Flavio Cobolli. That said, scheduling commitments could have made things tricky, as the event in Riyadh is now less than two weeks away.
Sinner, who recently announced that he would not compete again in 2026 due to a lingering knee injury, won the first two editions of the Six Kings Slam, defeating Alcaraz in both the 2024 and 2025 finals.
The Italian pocketed a staggering $6 million for each of those triumphs, thanks to a prize-money structure that guarantees each participant $1.5 million, with an additional $4.5 million awarded to the champion.
Although organizers have yet to officially confirm the prize-money structure for 2026, reports suggest that the same amounts will be on offer this year.
For Tien, the potential windfall could be transformative. If the American manages to win the title, the reported $6 million payday could nearly quadruple his total prize-money earnings for the 2026 season.
Even without winning a match, Tien stands to collect a reported $1.5 million appearance fee, a remarkable sum for three days of exhibition tennis. He has earned $2.435 million in prize money so far in 2026.
The Six Kings Slam is not an official ATP event and does not award ranking points. The tournament will be broadcast globally on Netflix.
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