Exhibition match in South Korea, Sinner - Alcaraz receive a huge payout

The amount Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz earn at this event is almost as much as the prize for the Australian Open champion.

While most of the world’s top players are rushing to finalize preparations for the Australian Open through warm-up tournaments like the Brisbane International or United Cup, the two brightest stars in men's tennis right now, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, have chosen a different path: playing an exhibition in South Korea.

According to the plan, Sinner and Alcaraz will face off in an exhibition match at the Hyundai Card Super Match event in Incheon on January 10. This is seen as a notable rematch of recent Grand Slam finals, where the two young players have sparked a rivalry considered the new era of men’s tennis.

In 2025, Alcaraz defeated Sinner twice in Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and the US Open. Conversely, Sinner won against the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final and ATP Finals, somewhat balancing their head-to-head record on the biggest stages.

Although it is only an exhibition match, the financial value of the event in Incheon has caught the attention of the tennis world. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport,each player is reportedly set to receive a fee of up to 2.3 million USD. This amount is just about half a million USD less than the prize money awarded to the men’s singles champion at the 2026 Australian Open — a tournament requiring the winner to overcome seven intense matches over two weeks.

More notably, this is not even the highest prize money Sinner and Alcaraz have ever earned. At the Six Kings Slam 2025 in Saudi Arabia, Sinner defeated Alcaraz to claim a massive prize of 6 million USD.

Nevertheless, Grand Slam fans can rest assured that these exhibition events do not distract the two players from their major goals. Right after the match in South Korea, both Sinner and Alcaraz will travel to Melbourne to prepare for the first Grand Slam of the year.