While most players are already slogging away in Australia in preparation for the first grand-slam tournament of the year, there is a far more laid-back vibe in South Korea. All seemed very chummy between supposed rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as they gathered before an exhibition that is one of the most lucrative standalone tennis matches in recent years.
No wonder both were in good spirits. For Saturday’s best-of-three-set contest, each player will earn an estimated appearance fee of £1.7million, no matter the result. At Melbourne Park this month they would have to claim the title with seven wins to get a larger cheque of £2million, with the runner-up claiming “only” £1million.
This exhibition in Incheon — the Hyundai Card Super Match — between the world’s two best players is an unusual way to start the season, but it is frankly a financial no-brainer for both. The most money on offer at any of the official warm-up tournaments this week is about £770,000 for winning at least five matches at the United Cup team event in Sydney and Perth.
Sinner is the defending champion in Melbourne after beating Alexander Zverev in the 2025 final — the only grand-slam final last year that he did not contest with Alcaraz
JOEL CARRETT/EPA
It is also an indication of how confident both players are in their ability to hit the ground running at the start of the season. Many others like to arrive in Australia between Christmas and new year to adjust to the hot conditions, with two weeks of tournaments available before the Australian Open gets under way on January 18. Alcaraz and Sinner, on the other hand, will not step on a Melbourne court until Monday at the earliest.
There are practice matches lined up for both on the Rod Laver Arena — Alcaraz will play Alex de Minaur on Thursday, while Sinner faces Félix Auger-Aliassime next Friday — and a novelty appearance in the One Point Slam between professionals and amateurs on Wednesday, but the first official ball they hit will be in the first round of a major tournament.
This is not completely unprecedented, as some of Novak Djokovic’s ten Australian Open titles were won without playing a tournament beforehand. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray usually preferred to start the year with a warm-up, and were often enticed by the £1million-plus appearance fee at the Qatar Open in Doha.
The difference here is that two rivals have agreed to essentially collaborate before a grand-slam event. Alcaraz and Sinner’s pre-season preparations will have almost certainly consisted of specific technical improvements for a future match against each other. Some observers may argue that it would be best to keep these up their sleeves for a potential final at the Australian Open rather than a “hit-and-giggle” in Incheon.
Sinner and Alcaraz hinted that they would be open to teaming up as a doubles pair in the future
ANDREW SCHWARTZ/SPLASH
The exhibition fits the trend between Alcaraz and Sinner. It has long been a friendly rivalry with no sign whatsoever of any needle between the pair — even Federer and Nadal were prone to the odd dig at each other. This reached new levels on Friday when they revealed they were open to the prospect of teaming up in doubles at some point soon.
“It was once or twice we thought about it,” Alcaraz, the 22-year-old world No1 from Spain, said. “But being singles players and playing so many matches, tournament after tournament in a row, it’s really difficult to play doubles sometimes. At least once would be fine. But I think I play forehand [on the deuce side of the court] and he plays backhand [on the advantage side].”
Sinner, 24, was receptive. “It would be fun at least one time to share the court in different ways, on the same side,” the world No2 from Italy said. “We are going to talk about it maybe this year. Or next year, why not? It’s going to be a surprise.”
Elsewhere, British representation came to an end at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Friday. Francesca Jones retired with a groin injury during her quarter-final at 6-4, 4-3 down to Wang Xinyu, but is hopeful that she will recover in time for the Australian Open. Sonay Kartal pushed the top seed, Elina Svitolina, hard before narrowly losing 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-5).
Jones had to retire from her quarter-final match in Auckland against Wang Xinyu because of a groin injury
PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES
Stan Wawrinka has been awarded an Australian Open wild card to mark the final season of his career at the age of 40, but Nick Kyrgios has chosen not to take up an invitation for the main draw, citing concerns that he would not be fit enough to play singles.
“I’ve made the call to focus on doubles for this year’s AO [Australian Open],” Kyrgios wrote on social media. “I’m fit and back on court, but five-setters are a different beast and I’m not quite ready to go the distance yet. I’d rather give my spot to someone who’s ready to make their moment count.”