Off-side: Age of excess is blurring line between good and the great

We are living in a time where money, not love or talent, decides who wears the crown.

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the true kings of sport. | Photo Credit: AP

A king is made, not born. Gone are the days when you find yourself draped in royal robes simply because of your last name — well unless you’re born into the Indian film industry, where being a star kid is still considered a useful talent. Greatness is something you earn. You just don’t wake up one morning and be the monarch of anything. It’s more of a slow-burn romance, where you toil for years, gradually winning people over.

Argentina had to wait decades for someone who could truly inherit El Diego’s legacy. Of course, there were hopefuls — Ortega, Aimar, Riquelme — each dazzling for a moment before drifting into the fog of obscurity.

In tennis, Rafael Nadal, with his 14 French Open titles, is the undisputed King of Clay, while Novak Djokovic, winner of 24 Slams, is a worthy claimant to the ‘greatest of the greats’ throne. Not always the crowd favourite, his tenacity separates him from the rest. And Roger Federer with his artistry, and 20 Grand Slams, will always be the King of our Hearts. His persona, his game and his vulnerability make him a fan favourite even in the opponent’s den.

These men are the true kings of sport. Their crowns were not bought in glitzy boardrooms or negotiated through glossy PR deals. But we are living in a time where money, not love or talent, decides who wears the crown. A two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist now holds court with Nadal and Djokovic in the made-for-TV ‘Slam of Six Kings’, funded by Saudi Arabia, the new masters of world sport.

The four-day jamboree in Riyadh guarantees a prize of $1.5 million to all six participants, with the winner set to be richer by $6m, almost double the amount ($3.6m) that Jannik Sinner earned for winning the 2024 US Open.

And here the unknown four-ATP tour title winner, Holger Rune, can masquerade as a king, guaranteeing the biggest payday in his nascent career. The other three joining him, Nadal and Djokovic — Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev — at least have better credentials with seven Grand Slam titles between them.

This cash-grab circus is wedged between the last two ATP Masters of the year in Shanghai and Paris and offers a rest day on October 18 to circumvent the ATP’s rule that stops top players from competing on three consecutive days in an exhibition event.

The tennis world, grappling with a taxing schedule and a widening pay gap, is divided on this latest addition. While world No. 93 Liam Broady said, “Speechless as to how damn cool this promo is. Probably best I’ve ever seen in tennis. Would watch this movie. 10/10”, former world No. 1 Andy Murray was quick to denounce the event. “Except it’s not a movie and you won’t watch it because it’s an exhibition tennis event that nobody cares about,” the three-time Grand Slam winner said.

But ATP, which has named both its rankings and the year-end world number one award after Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, will be the last one complaining even if events like this threaten its existence.

At home, the BCCI, usually good at getting things right — like overhauling the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru — seems to have taken a misstep by adding a Rs 7.5 lakh match fee for IPL games. The addition and the increase in base price might allow a non-capped player to earn at least Rs 1.35 crore if he plays all 14 group games, a sum far higher compared to the Rs 25 lakh (Rs 60,000 a day for players with more than 40 appearances) that a player gets for making the final of the Ranji Trophy.

The enchantment will only make an already seductive IPL more alluring at the expense of the domestic game.