In the brand new and controversial Six Kings Slam, where six of the world’s top tennis players compete in an exclusive and millionaire format, it was not all about the spectacle on the court. Two prominent names on the circuit, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, delivered a performance to forget, but their bank accounts were more than reinforced.
Both were eliminated in the first round without winning a single set, but they pocketed scandalous sums of money just for stepping on the court. In this new tournament, the money rains down from the very first serve.
The price of defeat
According to official tournament sources, the six players taking part receive 1.35 million euros just for competing, regardless of their performance. This figure can rise to 7 million euros for the winner, adding bonuses for advancing through the rounds.
But what has really caught the attention of the public and the media has not been the tennis displayed by Zverev or Tsitsipas, but the calculation of the money earned per minute on the court.
Alexander Zverev was the first to say goodbye to the tournament, after an unappealable defeat against American Taylor Fritz. The match lasted exactly 59 minutes, enough time for Zverev to walk away with €1.3 million.Doing the math, the German earned approximately €22,033 per minute. If we break it down even further, he pocketed €367 per second. Zverev earned more than 22,000 euros for every minute he was on the court, despite not offering his best performance or winning a set. An economic performance that contrasts with the sporting one, but reflects the new era of tennis as a spectacle.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, more of the same
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas had a little more prominence on the court, but not much more luck. He faced Italian Jannik Sinner, who defeated him in 1 hour and 16 minutes. If we do the same calculations, it comes out to €18,618 per minute and €310 per second.
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