Alcaraz Returns to Vienna for First Time Since 2021 After Early Shanghai Exit

Carlos Alcaraz to play Vienna Open after Six Kings slam postponement

The Vienna Open has landed a late star signing, with Carlos Alcaraz committing to the ATP 500 event after the lucrative Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia was postponed to December following deadly attacks on the kingdom.

Vienna Open gets Alcaraz boost as Netflix Six Kings slam postponed to December...

The Vienna ATP tournament said Thursday it moved quickly after a Saudi exhibition event was canceled to add world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz to its field.

“When indications emerged on Wednesday that the Six Kings Slam... would be postponed until the end of December, Tournament Director Herwig Straka reacted immediately and contacted Carlos Alcaraz's management,” Vienna organizers said in a statement.

“Everything happened very quickly after that, and Carlos agreed to come to Vienna without much hesitation,” said Straka.

“His commitment is a tremendous honour for our tournament.”

The lucrative Six Kings exhibition event, scheduled for Oct. 21-24 and set to be streamed live on Netflix, was postponed after Yemen's Houthis carried out deadly attacks on the kingdom. Organizers now hope to hold the tournament on Dec. 27-30.

US Open champion Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur and Learner Tien had already been scheduled to play in Saudi Arabia before heading to Vienna, which begins Oct. 26.

Other top-10 players already announced for the indoor hard-court ATP 500 event in Vienna are Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe.

Wow. Carlos Alcaraz receives a wild card for the Viena ATP 500.

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 15, 2026

Alcaraz has only played the Vienna tournament once before, in 2021, when he reached the semifinals.

The former world No. 1 has shown inconsistent form since returning from a long injury layoff at the US Open at the end of August.

He won in Tokyo in September but was knocked out in the third round of the Shanghai Masters in straight sets by Zizou Bergs on Monday.