Carlos Alcaraz reveals prize money attracted him to Saudi's Six Kings Slam
Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz, currently ranked world No. 2, admitted that the record-breaking prize money offered at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia earlier this month was a strong motivation for his participation. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Alcaraz reflected on his experience at the exhibition event in Riyadh, where he earned $1.5 million over just four days.
While Alcaraz insisted that his love for tennis often outweighs financial considerations, he acknowledged the allure of the prize money. “I love playing tennis. Most of the time, I don’t think about the money; I just play for love or fun,” Alcaraz shared with reporters. “But you have to be realistic. You have to think that you want to earn money, you know, and that’s itâæ in Arabia is the most highest prize money ever in the history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me.”
In contrast, Italian rival and top-ten player Jannik Sinner emphasized that financial rewards were not his motivation for competing in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Sinner described the event as an opportunity to take on high-caliber competition.
Alcaraz, who won both the French Open and Wimbledon titles this year, is now preparing to face Nicolas Jarry of Chile in his opening match at the Paris Masters. Reflecting on his previous performances in Paris, Alcaraz admitted that the year-end tournament has posed challenges. “I haven’t played good tennis here in this tournament,” he said. “Probably at the end of the year, I have been tired, orâæ as I said last year, I had to understand that the season is still going after September.”
With the Paris Masters underway, top seeds will begin their campaigns on Tuesday. Among Monday’s early action, Greek 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas came from behind to defeat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, while France’s Adrian Mannarino upset American 11th seed Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5.
The Paris Masters will continue through November 3, marking one of the season’s final competitions before players enter a brief off-season ahead of the next year’s grueling schedule.
