Jannik Sinner made tennis history earlier this month as he won the inaugural Six Kings Slam in Riyadh.
Sinner loved the Six Kings Slam, where the Italian beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final after overcoming Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic.
The world number one had only just beaten Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters final, where he secured his eighth tour-level title of 2024.
Riyadh’s Six Kings Slam was not associated with the ATP Tour, but it featured six of the world’s leading players.
Rafael Nadal and Holger Rune also took part, with Sinner earning $6million for his Six Kings Slam success.
Jannik Sinner gives the real reason he played at the Six Kings Slam
The figure is almost double that of the top Wimbledon prize, but Sinner has now revealed that the money involved was not his main motivation for taking part in the tournament.
Discussing receiving the biggest prize in tennis history, he told Eurosport: “No it’s… I don’t play for money, it’s very simple.
“Of course it’s a nice prize and everything, but for me, I went there because there were possibly the six best players in the world, and then you can measure yourself with them. It was also a nice event, for me it was the first time that I went to Riyadh, it was something very nice.
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“Of course when you come back as a winner, for me, was more about okay, I played the matches in the right way, and then this hopefully can improve me as a player also for the future. I think that’s it.
“Then of course the money is important, but not that much. I live a good life also without this money so I think it’s much more important the health I have, and surrounding myself with great people and the family I have. The money is just an extra.”
Jannik Sinner back on ATP Tour after Six Kings Slam success
Whether or not Sinner is telling the whole truth will perhaps never be known, with the prize money involved undoubtedly a huge selling point for the players taking part.
The world number one has, of course, already clinched millions from his career so far, with his career earnings set to rise exponentially given that he is just 23 years old.
Fans will be eager for the love of the sport to outweigh the financial benefits, but that will be difficult if tournaments such as the Six Kings Slam become regular.
Sinner will be thrilled with his success in Riyadh for more reasons than one, but he now needs to turn his focus back to the ATP Tour.
The Italian is currently in France for the Paris Masters, where he is the top seed for the ATP Masters 1,000 event.
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