"Mad because they didn't call you?" - Fans clap back at Stan Wawrinka over laughing at Jannik Sinner's 'money' answer to Six Kings Slam appearance

Stan Wawrinka's response to Jannik Sinner over the Italian's "money" claim has not gone down well with fans. Sinner's admission came in the aftermath of his participation at the Six Kings Slam, a high-profile exhibition tournament recently held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

From Wednesday, October 16 to Saturday, October 19, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, for the Six Kings Slam. Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune were the other participants at the event.

Jannik Sinner won the final against Carlos Alcaraz, which resulted in the Italian taking home $7.5 million; $1.5 million in appearance fees and $6 million in the winner's prize money. Recently, Sinner told Eurosport ahead of his 2024 Rolex Paris Masters campaign that money is never his primary motivation when it comes to playing tennis.

"I don't play for money. It's very simple. Of course, 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," Sinner said.

Stan Wawrinka, a former World No. 3 and three-time Grand Slam champion, took notice of Sinner's admission on X (formerly Twitter) and responded to it using a laughing emoji.

Several fans, though, were less than impressed with Wawrinka's reaction. Some of them suggested that the Swiss veteran is jealous that Sinner received the invitation to participate in the Six Kings Slam whereas Wawrinka himself didn't.

"Your mad because they didn’t call you?" a fan asked.

"Is that you?" questioned another, citing a past admission of Wawrinka after the Swiss himself participated in an exhibition event.

"Oh grandpa are u jealous that he was invited this year and you were not?" another chimed in.

Others opined that Wawrinka wouldn't have spurned the opportunity to participate at the Six Kings Slam had he been invited. Some blatantly disagreed with the Swiss' take as well.

"Stan the old man you're eager for that money.. if you were invited you'll come jogging all the way from Switzerland," wrote one fan.

"Sorry Stan,but no one plays for the money,you play for the win.That's what he means.The question was awful and he tried to reply keeping in mind he is a role model for young people. Would you tell your children to play just for the money? The truth is, it's easy to blame him now," another fan opined.

"The difference between a good player(you) and the new goat(Sinner)… you can’t understand…," one fan weighed in.

Sinner's Six Kings Slam title triumph made him the most richly rewarded athlete in sports history in terms of prize money earnings from a single event.

Jannik Sinner brushed aside Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz to win the Six Kings Slam

Jannik Sinner posing with the Six Kings Slam trophy (Source: Getty)

Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Jannik Sinner started his Six Kings Slam campaign in the quarterfinals against Daniil Medvedev. It was a completely one-sided contest, as the Italian made short work of the Russian, winning 6-0, 6-3.

The win over Medvedev set Sinner up for a semifinal clash against 24-time Major winner Novak Djokovic. The Serb made things way harder for the World No. 1 compared to Medvedev, but ultimately, it was the Italian who won 6-2, 6-7(0), 6-4.

In the final against Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner lost the first set, but remarkably bounced back to win 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, and bag the $6 million bounty. The Italian is currently preparing for his 2024 Rolex Paris Masters campaign in a bid to win his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.

Sinner is the top seed in Paris, and has received a first-round bye. He is set to get his campaign going in the second round against either Ben Shelton or a qualifier/special exempt.