World No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4,6-4 in the finals of the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. Sinner was undefeated in the event that starts with a round-robin to determine the semifinalists. The five straight wins meant a maximum payout of $4.88 million for Sinner, the highest ever for an ATP tournament. For comparison, Sinner earned $3.6 million for his 2024 U.S. Open finals win, also over Fritz.
The win caps a stunning 2024 for Sinner, who was playing in front of his home country for the first time since he ascended to the No. 1 ranking in June—becoming the first Italian to do so since the rankings were introduced in 1973.
Sinner won $17 million in prize money and eight official ATP events, including his first two Grand Slams—the U.S. Open and Australian Open. The earnings haul was the second highest for a single season after Novak Djokovic’s dominant 2015 that included 11 titles and $21.1 million in winnings. Sinner finished the season with a match record of 70 wins and only six losses, and his career prize money of $33 million now ranks 10th all time for the 23-year-old.
Sinner also nabbed the biggest check of 2024 for an unofficial event at the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia. He won the competition among a half-dozen top men’s players and first prize of $6 million.
Despite the on-court wins, Sinner has faced questions off the court over revelations that he twice tested positive in March for low levels of a banned anabolic steroid. In August, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed that its investigation found that Sinner had “no fault or negligence.” The ITIA concluded that Sinner’s physiotherapist used a spray containing clostebol. The decision to clear Sinner was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, with a final ruling expected in early 2025.
Fritz earned $2.25 million in defeat, which pushed his season total earnings to a career-high $7 million. He was the first American finalist at the ATP Finals since James Blake lost the 2006 final to Roger Federer. The last American to win the event was Pete Sampras, who beat Andre Agassi in 1999. Last week, American Coco Gauff won the year-end WTA event and its record $4.8 million in prize money.
Fritz will rise to a new career high of fourth in the world rankings when they are released on Monday. It will make him the highest-ranked American man since Andy Roddick in 2007.
