Former American tennis player John Isner slammed the ATP for the prize money that Jannik Sinner received after winning his maiden Monte-Carlo Masters title last week in Monaco.
World No. 1 Sinner has enjoyed a sensational run, especially in the last month. He became the seventh men’s player to complete the Sunshine Double, lifting the Indian Wells and Miami Open. He extended his prolific form in Monaco and brought home his first clay title since the Croatia Open 2022.
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The Italian sensation enjoyed a scintillating streak of winning 37 sets on the trot, the most by a player in the history of the sport. However, his remarkable run came to an end at the hands of Tomas Machac in the Round of 16.
After ending Carlos Alcaraz’s title defense and his reign at the top in the final, Sinner was handed a cheque of €974,370, which is higher than the previous edition. However, the same isn’t the case for the Indian Wells and Miami Open.
At the BNP Paribas Open, the 24-year-old received $1,151,380 for his championship success, which is significantly less than the 2018 prize money of $1,340,860. The trend was also observed in Miami, with the championship reward being $1,151,380, far less than Isner’s prize money of $1,340,860 of 2018.
The 40-year-old lampooned ATP for the “absurd” trend of declining winner’s share, even though the collective pool has increased over the years.
“At The Masters 1000 events, the winner’s cheque has gone down. When I won Miami in 2018 I won more money for winning the title than Sinner did this year in 2026. They have spread the prize money out and there is more total prize money. But the winner’s share was $200,000 less, give or take, in 2026 than it was in 2018. That’s insane, it’s absurd. No sport in the world has that going on right now. It’s ridiculous,” Isner said on the Nothing Major Podcast.
Apart from the Sunshine Double tournaments, the Madrid Open, the Shanghai Masters, and the Paris Masters are the other three that have seen a drop in the title winner’s share during this period.
Jannik Sinner weighs in on the possibility of competing at the Madrid Open
Considering the amount of workload Jannik Sinner has faced recently, doubts have surrounded his participation at the Madrid Open, scheduled to commence on April 20. Concerns over his availability also stem from his struggle during the second set against Machac.
Sinner was spotted consistently holding his back, but he maintained his composure and went all the way to lift the title. The Italian said that he would take a couple of days to decide whether to travel to Madrid or not.
“I’ll take 2-3 days off and then we’ll decide with my team whether we’ll go to Madrid or not,” Jannik Sinner said via Live Tennis.
If Jannik Sinner skips the Madrid Open, he will return to competitive action in Rome, which is slated for next month.
Edited by Hitesh Nigam
