Diriyah Tennis Cup 2022: Players, schedule, prize money breakdown, where to watch & more
The 2022 Diriyah Tennis Cup kicks off a slew of exhibition tournaments that are slated to happen this month. The three-day event will take place from December 8-10 on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The off-season used to be a time when fans were deprived of tennis for weeks, but not this year. Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud completed their exhibition tour through South America a few days ago. Following the conclusion of the tournament in Saudi Arabia, there are a couple more exhibition events lined up in the Middle East.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz headlines the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, while Novak Djokovic leads the field in the World Tennis League. There's plenty of action happening this month, starting with the Diriyah Tennis Cup.
Here's all the information regarding the event:
What is the Diriyah Tennis Cup?
It is an exhibition tournament offering players a headstart on their upcoming season in a fun yet competitive environment. This will be just the second edition of the event, following the inaugural one in 2019. Daniil Medvedev won the title back then and will return to defend his crown.
Venue
The 2022 edition of the tournament will take place at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Diriyah, located just outside the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Players
Plenty of top players have signed up for the three-day extravaganza at the Diriyah Tennis Cup. Grand Slam champions Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, and Stan Wawrinka lead the field.
Also present are top-10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, and Hubert Hurkacz. Wimbledon finalists Nick Kyrgios and Matteo Berrettini will also feature in the draw. Rising Swiss star Dominic Stricker is another player to watch out for.
Alexander Zverev, who hasn't competed since sustaining an injury during the semifinals of the French Open earlier this year, will make his long-awaited return. Cameron Norrie rounds out the 12-player field.
Schedule
The top four seeds have received a first-round bye. The remaining opening round matches, along with the quarterfinals, will be played on the first day itself, i.e., on Thursday, December 8. The semifinals will take place on Friday, followed by the title round on Saturday.
Players who lose in the first round will take part in the doubles event. The semifinals and the final will be held on Friday and Saturday respectively.
Prize Money
The singles champion will receive $1,000,000, while the runner-up will earn $500,000. Each semifinalist will get $250,000. The winning team in doubles will receive $250,000 each, while the runner-up will get $125,000 per player and the semifinalists will $75,000 each.
Where to watch
Eurosport is the official broadcaster of the Diriyah Tennis Cup across most European countries and in the Asia Pacific region.
Eurosport (Europe): United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and more.
Eurosport (Asia-Pacific): Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Sky Sport: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
SSC: Saudi Arabia.
Match TV: Russia.
For more information regarding the broadcast of matches, click here.
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