Alcaraz admits the huge prize money was one of the main reasons he played Six Kings Slam

Carlos Alcaraz admitted that the money offered contributed to his decision to compete at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, an answer that was very different from Jannik Sinner’s on the matter.

The Six Kings Slam tournament took place from October 16 to 19. Even though it was an exhibition event, Sinner, Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune decided to take part in the event.

Sinner and Alcaraz met in the finals of the Six Kings Slam. After losing the opening set, The world number one rallied and won with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-3.. This ended a three-match losing streak against the Spaniard, although the match in Saudi Arabia was not included in their official head-to-head meetings.

The Italian received an incredible $6 million reward for winning the Six Kings Slam. This is the largest salary ever received for winning a tennis tournament, although Sinner only needed three wins to win the title.

Despite receiving this incredible amount, Sinner insists he’s not playing for moneythat 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 the best players.

Some may find Sinner’s answer hard to believe. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which any of the six players competing in the Six Kings Slam would do so for a small amount of money.

During a press conference ahead of the Paris Masters, Alcaraz was asked about his motivation to compete in Saudi Arabia and was much more open about the role of the financial incentives on offer.

The 21-year-old said he loves playing tennis and doesn’t usually think about money, but Alcaraz also said he wasn’t going to lie and pretend the huge sums weren’t a factor. Each man was given $1.5 million just for participating in the event.

“Well, I mean, if I say (smiling) that I went there just for fun or to play and forgot about the money, I would be lying. It’s obvious… I mean, every person works for it too. You know, that’s life.”

“You know, I love playing tennis. You know, most of the time I don’t think about money. I just play for love or for fun. But you have to be realistic.”

“You have to think that you want to make money, you know, that’s all. You know, Arabia has the highest prize money in history, so that was good motivation, at least for me.”

Alcaraz’s honesty is refreshing. He may have been tempted to downplay the money after failing to win $6 million for the champion, but the world No. 2 made no secret of the incentive it gave him.

In the future, Saudi Arabia’s influence could expand, meaning more tournaments with huge sums of money tempting players could become more normal.