Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs has criticised Jannik Sinner for claiming he did not play the Six Kings Slam for money.

Stubbs, a former doubles world No 1, believes Sinner wants “to be like Roger Federer” with his “politically correct” approach to how he communicates.

Earlier this month, Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

It was the most lucrative match in tennis history as Sinner secured $6 million — the biggest prize money cheque ever awarded in the sport.

The 23-year-old Italian has since insisted that money was not the motivation behind him playing the exhibition.

“No, I don’t play for money,” the world No 1 told Eurosport. “It’s very simple. Of course it’s a nice prize and everything but you know, for me, I went there because there were, possibly the six best players in the world and then you can measure yourself with them.

“It was also a nice event for me. It was the first time I went to Riyadh. It was for something very nice.

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“Of course, when you come back as a winner, for me it was more that, okay, I played the matches in the right way and this can hopefully improve me as a player also for the future.

“I think that’s it. And of course, the money is important, but not that much. I live a good life also without this money.”

When asked about Sinner’s comments, Alcaraz offered a different answer to his rival on the Six Kings Slam subject.

“Well, I mean, if I say I went there just for fun or to play and forget the money, I’m gonna lie,” the Spaniard said.

“That’s obviously. I mean, every person work for that, as well. You know, that’s how life is about.

“You know, I love playing tennis. You know, most of the time I don’t think about the money. I just play for love or for fun. But you have to be realistic. You have to think that you want to earn money, you know, and that’s it.

“You know, in Arabia is the most highest prize money ever in the history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me.”

On an episode of the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs questioned why Sinner did not address the topic in the same way as Alcaraz.

“I love him so much, because he’s so trusted to be politically correct, ‘No, I didn’t go for the money. I’m just playing. The six best players in the world are there and I want to test myself’,” the Australian said.

“Listen, Jannik, I love you, but dude, come on! There’s no way you’re adding a tournament on to your schedule. Just like Carlos [Alcaraz] said, ‘Of course I went for the money’.

“Jannik, I know you want to be politically correct with everything because you are. You want to be like Roger Federer where you say everything really well.

“But sometimes, you go, ‘Yeah, it was interesting. I wanted to go visit. We were getting paid a lot of money, and that’s why I went’.”

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