Sinner, Sabalenka & Osaka Among Players Confirmed For Las Vegas Exhibition
News
Fans in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be treated to an exciting exhibition event featuring some of the best players on the ATP and WTA Tours, including Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka.
The MGM Rewards Slam exhibition will be held on March 1st and 2nd. All the players involved can use it to prepare for the prestigious Indian Wells Open, which takes place in the first half of March.
Sinner will play at the exhibition more than a month after the Australian Open men's singles final. He beat Ben Shelton in straight sets to secure a spot in his second consecutive final at the tournament.
The ATP world No. 1 has not competed at an exhibition since the lucrative Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which also featured Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune.
Sinner won the largest paycheck in tennis history, $6,000,000, after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Despite that incredible reward, the Italian insisted afterward that he does not play for money.
Sinner's appearance fee for the MGM Rewards Slam will likely be substantial. Top players rarely agree to appear in exhibitions without a significant reward, especially during the season.
However, off-season exhibitions can also be lucrative. Carlos Alcaraz was reported to have earned between $1 and $2 million for appearing alongside Ben Shelton in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden last month.
The exhibition will also feature the WTA world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka. Sinner and Sabalenka are guaranteed to still be No. 1 in the men's and singles rankings when tickets go on sale on January 27th, which should boost the event.
Sabalenka is focusing on her third consecutive Australian Open final. She will face Madison Keys, who saved a match point to defeat Iga Swiatek in the semifinal, for another title at the season's opening Grand Slam.
Swiatek's loss to Keys confirmed that Sabalenka would stay at world No. 1 after the Australian Open. The Pole has a large number of points to defend in the coming months, so overtaking her rival will be a tough challenge.
Hopefully, Osaka is fit to appear at the exhibition. She was forced to retire after the first set of the Australian Open third-round match against Belinda Bencic due to an abdominal issue she had before the tournament.
It was devastating for the four-time Grand Slam champion because she was in great form after reaching the ASB Classic final and beating Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova in the opening two rounds of the Australian Open.
Alexander Zverev, Sinner's opponent in the Australian Open final, has also signed up for the exhibition. The German reached a third Grand Slam final after Novak Djokovic suddenly retired with an injury in the semifinal.
Zverev received widespread praise after defending Djokovic in his post-match interview from those who booed him as he walked off the court since he felt it was disrespectful to the tennis legend.
The other two players who have committed to playing at the exhibition are American ATP No. 1 Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
