Jannik Sinner pockets record $9M in prize money at Saudi Arabian tournament

The Italian star avenged his previous loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final and claimed $6 million for winning the title.

In Riyadh on Saturday, he boasted a hard-fought victory over Alcaraz, with a score of 6-7, 6-3 and 6-3.

In addition to his $1.5 million entry fee and $500,000 per match played, Sinner's total earnings for the three-day event just shy of his total prize money of $12 million that he received for the entire year.

According to AS, even the players who earned the least, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune, took home $2 million each after playing for just over an hour.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who both lost in the semifinals, earned at least $3 million. Nadal and Djokovic also received luxury gifts from Saudi Arabian officials, including a gold racket presented to Nadal.

Sinner's win will not count towards his ATP head-to-head record with Alcaraz given it was an exhibition contest. Alcaraz holds a 6-4 record against Sinner as he won all three of their official encounters in 2024.

"I will practice and try as hard as I can," Alcaraz said in an interview after the final. "I’m sure Jannik is gonna be there. I’ll try to do my best every day during the years. Hopefully it makes this rivalry better and better over the years.

"I want to say I’m grateful to have him around on tour. Thanks to him I push myself to the limit. I give my 100% every day to be a better player. But we just try our best."

Sinner also confirmed what Alcaraz said, adding that they share a friendship.

"It’s a mix of everything. As Carlos said, we try to push ourselves to the limit. I wake up in the morning trying to understand the ways to beat him," Sinner said.

"We understand each other. We travel a lot. I would say we are good friends. Not the best out of the best. But we like to share every time when we go on court. We try to enjoy."

Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic, Medvedev and Rune may soon meet again at the Paris Masters, the last Masters 1000 event of the year starting on Oct. 28.