To start the 2026 season, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were the only two top-30 players on the ATP Tour who did not enter an official pre-Australian Open tournament entry list to gain match practice ahead of the first Major of the year.
It was revealed late in 2025 that the reason for this was unexpected news that the two current leaders of men’s tennis were set to play an exhibition match against each other in early January, to be held in South Korea. Latest reports revealing how much each player is set to earn from the event now make that decision far more understandable.
A Multi-Million Dollar January Payday
According to reports from Gazzetta, both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are expected to earn over $2 million each in appearance fees alone for the exhibition. This figure aligns with what both stars receive for their participation in the now-annual Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia, making the seemingly risky decision to face a major rival before a Slam, even in an exhibition setting, far easier to justify.
Surprisingly, this is not where the similarities between Alcaraz and Sinner start by the season’s end.
A Mirror-Image Start to the 2026 Season
Following the exhibition, both players are set to travel to Melbourne, where they will take part in Tennis Australia’s newly revamped and improved “1 Point Slam”, which boasts a jaw-dropping AUD $1 million winners’ prize.
They will also feature in warm-up match events ahead of the Australian Open, with the Spaniard scheduled to face Alex de Minaur and the Italian set to take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the days before the tournament begins. Both will then launch their campaigns at the first Major of the year as the top two seeds, with the possibility of setting up a fourth consecutive ‘SinCaraz’ Grand Slam final firmly on the horizon.
While Alcaraz and Sinner remain fierce rivals on court and respectful acquaintances off it, their goals heading into what could be a pivotal 2026 season are identical. And fittingly, their year will begin in near-perfect symmetry, with a lucrative showdown in South Korea on January 10 set to kick things off.
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