Jannik Sinner is now the proud owner of two golden tennis rackets after he won the Six Kings Slam title for a second year in succession, with the manner of his win against his big rival Carlos Alcaraz sending out a big statement.
Alcaraz took Sinner apart in the US Open final last month, as he claimed his sixth Grand Slam title in emphatic fashion with a stunning display in New York.
Sinner needed to respond to that defeat and he did just that by winning 6-4, 6-2, claiming a $6million prize money cheque in the process.
He was also handed another golden tennis racket by the organisers of the event that is part of the Riyadh Season sporting fiesta and Tennis365 have been given an insight into what went into the eye-catching racket.
The frame is made from 24 karat gold and was made specifically for the Six Kings Slam event.
More Tennis News
Startling statistic reveals how Jannik Sinner pushed Novak Djokovic onto the back foot
Value of golden racket Jannik Sinner won after beating Carlos Alcaraz in Six Kings Slam is revealed
Ten people have been working on the racket that took approximately 164 hours in production and it is entirely hand crafted.
It weighs 4 kilos, which is around 20 times the weight of a typical racket and the weight was a topic of conversation when Sinner allowed the Netflix commentary team to have a feel of it after the match.
Prakash Amritraj, Tim Henman and Laura Robson all got a chance to hold Sinner’s golden racket, with all three surprised by how heavy the frame was.
There is no confirmation over how much Sinner’s golden frame may be worth, but is safe to assume it is one of the most valuable tennis rackets in the world.
Sinner will have a chance to display his two golden rackets alongside each other now and he will be hoping to play with the same level of quality he showed in his relatively straightforward win against Alcaraz when they meet in their next official tournament.
“I wish I could play like this everywhere,” said Sinner. “Producing this kind of tennis obviously makes me very happy. It is always nice to share the court with Carlos, he has done an incredible job throughout the whole season, working very hard, winning incredible titles.
“We have played many, many times this season, I have had some very tough losses and also some great wins. You need to adapt when you play against Carlos. You want to get better as a tennis player, you need rivalries in the sport so it is nice to have a great rivalry and also, more importantly, a great friendship off the court and we have a very special friendship, it is very nice.
“We come here [Riyadh] because we love to play here, we love the atmosphere, we thank everyone for coming, for sharing, the whole tournament, the organisation is amazing.”
Sinner is now heading to Vienna to play in an ATP 500 event, with Alcaraz set to take a short break before playing in the final ATP 1000 event in Paris at the end of this month.