The schedule of the world’s number one tennis player is hectic. Hours after playing in the Laver Cup in San Francisco (the European team lost to the Rest of the World), Carlos Alcaraz set off for Tokyo. He was accompanied by the same team that supported him in the Californian city. He arrived in the Japanese capital on Tuesday and went to train on the central court of the Ariake Coliseum with his coach Samuel Lopez and his older brother Alvaro, who acts as a sparring partner.
Tokyo is not just another event for Alcaraz, who is appearing for the first time in an emerging market such as Japan. In the tournament, he is playing for the bonus of one million dollars that the ATP awards to the tennis player who scores the most points in the 500 tournaments. The circuit distributes a prize pool of three million dollars among the top six finishers.
Alcaraz, champion in Rotterdam and Queen’s, finalist in Barcelona and quarter-finalist in Doha, has 1,430 points, which is 400 more than Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur, his closest pursuers who appear this week in the Beijing draw.
A third title in a tournament in this category would ensure him the lead at the end of the season in this classification unless Rublev or De Minaur also win in Beijing. It is the last 500 that Alcaraz will play while the Russian and the Australian are signed up in Vienna.
The other Masters 1000 bonus
The six-time major champion is also the leader in the Masters 1000 points ranking (including those scored at the ATP Finals). The player from El Palmar has 3,410 points, 1,450 more than the injured Jack Draper and 1,750 more than Lorenzo Musetti, who closes the podium. In this case, the prize pool is $21 million to be shared among the top 30 players.
Alcaraz, as the leader, aspires to another bonus of 4.5 million dollars, from which 25 percent would be deducted for each of his absences in the TMS tournaments, the Mutua Madrid and Toronto. The reduction, however, is less because the Spaniard was in the Spanish capital doing activities for the tournament. The Masters 1000 tournaments in Shanghai and Paris-Bercy and the Masters in Turin are still to be played.
Two years as the highest paid
It is no coincidence that, according to Forbes magazine, Alcaraz has been the highest-paid racket professional for two years. His closeness, his values, his winning character and his smile are an attraction for all the big brands. Of the $48.3 million he earned in the last year, $35 million was generated off the court.
The world’s number one tennis player, who has the prestigious IMG agent Albert Molina at the helm, lends his image to Danone, through Evian water, Nike (clothing and sports shoes), Babolat (rackets), Itau (bank), Isdin (parapharmacy products for facial care and photoprotection), Rolex (watches), El Pozo (food), Louis Vuitton (clothing) and BMW (cars).
His sporting success (six titles and eight consecutive finals) gives him the lead in prize money in 2025 with a total of $15,631,652.
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