Carlos Alcaraz has acknowledged that the money on offer contributed to his decision to appear at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, an answer that was very different from Jannik Sinner's on the subject.
The Six Kings Slam took place from October 16th to 19th. Despite being an exhibition, Sinner, Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune chose to compete at the event.
Sinner and Alcaraz met in the final of the Six Kings Slam. After losing the opening set, the world No. 1 rallied to prevail 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. That stopped a three-match losing streak against the Spaniard, although the match in Saudi Arabia was not included in their official head-to-head.
The Italian was rewarded with an extraordinary $6 million for winning the Six Kings Slam. That is the largest paycheck ever given for winning a tennis tournament, even though Sinner only needed three victories to claim the title.
Despite receiving that incredible sum, Sinner insists that he does not play for money, that the amount given to him by the Saudi government was just a bonus, and the main reason he played at the event was to test himself against top players.
Some might find Sinner's answer hard to believe. It is difficult to imagine a scenario where any of the six players who competed in the Six Kings Slam would have done so for a small amount of money.
Alcaraz was asked during a press conference before the Paris Masters about his motivation for playing at the exhibition in Saudi Arabia, and he was far more open about the role of the financial incentives on offer.
The 21-year-old said he loves playing tennis and usually does not think about money, but Alcaraz also stated he was not going to lie and pretend the vast sums did not play a role. Each man was given $1.5 million just for participating in the event.
"Well I mean, if I say (smiling), I mean, I went there just for fun or to play and forget the money, I'm gonna lie. That's obviously -- I mean, every person work for that, as well. You know, that's how life is about."
"You know, I love playing tennis. You know, most of the time I don't think about the money. I just play for love or for fun. But you have to be realistic."
"You have to think that you want to earn money, you know, and that's it. You know, in Arabia is the highest prize money ever in history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me."
Alcaraz's honesty is refreshing. He might have been tempted to play down the significance of the money being awarded after not winning the $6 million for the champion, but the world No. 2 did not hide that it was an incentive for him.
Saudi Arabia's influence could expand in future years, meaning more tournaments with vast sums of money to tempt players might become more normalized.
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