Jannik Sinner started the new tennis year with an exhibition match. © ANSA / HAN MYUNG-GU
It didn’t have the drama of a final, but there was still some entertainment. On Saturday, the two best players in the world rankings met in South Korea: Jannik Sinner from Sexten and Carlos Alcaraz from Spain.
10 January 2026
From: on
Of course, the hard court duel in the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea, in the greater Seoul area was “just” a show match, but it still had a lot to offer. No wonder, after all, world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz, met number 2, Jannik Sinner. With a relaxed atmosphere, lots of applause from the stands and some show performances, the two tennis aces had a high-class match at times.
The game was played to two winning sets, and Alcaraz ultimately secured the victory with 7:5, 7:6 (8). The first set went to Alcaraz 7:5 with the only break of the round in the last game. In the second set, both of them carried their serves through to the tiebreak, where Alcaraz secured the narrow victory with a minibreak to 8:6.
Carlos Alcaraz secured the victory. © ANSA / HAN MYUNG-GU
Things will only get serious for the two tennis stars in just over a week: the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, begins in Melbourne on January 18th. As in Seoul, the game is played on hard courts, but this time mostly in the open air. With prize money of 63.42 million euros (111.5 million Australian dollars), it is the richest Australian Open tournament of all time.
