Jannik Sinner seems to have no breathing space at the moment. His appearance at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia has brought him a lot of unwanted attention again. After winning $6 million in prize at the event, a debatable statement from the two-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t gone down well with several renowned tennis figures.

For those unaware, Jannik Sinner gave a controversial statement after winning the final at the Six Kings Slam where he beat his arch rival Carlos Alcaraz. While replying to the criticism over playing in a cash-rich exhibition event, he said, “It’s a nice prize and everything, but for me, I went there because there were possibly the six best players in the world. And then you can measure yourself with them.” However, it appears that Rennae Stubs, the former coach of Serena Williams, doesn’t agree with Sinner’s words.

In one of the latest episodes of The Rennae Stubs Podcast, Stubbs spoke on the ongoing situation involving the ATP World No.1. According to Rennae, Jannik Sinner’s statement is not convincing enough. “I love him so much because he so tries to be politically correct. ‘No, I didn’t go for the money. I’m just playing. It’s the six best players in the world there and I want to test myself.’ Listen, Jannik, I love you. But dude, come on. There’s no way you’re adding a tournament onto your schedule.”

She also brought up Carlos Alcaraz’s remarks who clearly admitted that the lucrative prize was the main reason for him to opt for the event. “Just like Carlos said. He’s like, ‘Yeah, of course I went for the money.'”

Having a go at Sinner’s statement again, Stubbs added, “Jannik, I know you want to be politically correct with everything because you are. But you know you want to be like the Roger Federer, where you say everything really well. But sometimes you go, ‘Yeah, listen, it was interesting. I wanted to go visit. We were getting paid a lot of money. That’s why I went’. Then he gets sick and pulls out of Paris. I’m like, oh dude.”

While not everyone agrees with Sinner’s words about the prize money, there has also been support from some of the notable figures about the participation of the players in such cash-rich events.

Ex-pro supports Jannik Sinner’s participation in Six Kings Slam

Former American player CoCo Vandeweghe recently came out in support of Sinner. While defending his decision to play in Riyadh, she said, “Saying no to $6 million? I’m not saying no to $1 million. It definitely counts for something.”

However, even Vandeweghe acknowledged that the big paycheck did play a role in appealing to players. On the issue of huge cash rewards in tournaments, she said, “Maybe that’s going to be the formula going forward… you’ve got to pay the big bucks.”

Sinner, in the meantime, has decided to pull back his name from Paris Masters. He came up with this unexpected update just ahead of the event, owing to an intestinal virus. “I’m very sorry for that but see you guys next year and hopefully, it’s going to be a great year,” he said.

As of now, it’s not clear if the World No. 1 will appear in Turin for the ATP Finals or any other remaining event of this season.