Alex de Minaur disclosed some of the motivating factors to playing on the UTS Tour.
The frenetic nature of the tennis format established by Patrick Mouratoglou has quickly become an attractive event for players to participate in.
On the UTS circuit there is less time between points, silence between points is not permitted and of course the stress of competing on the ATP Tour is somewhat alleviated.
Furthermore, there is the lure of the prize money, which Alex de Minaur shared his honest thoughts about.
What did Alex de Minaur say about the UTS Tour prize money?
De Minaur played on the UTS Tour on three occasions, with his first appearance coming back in 2020, when he won the title in Antwerp.
Since then he played in the UTS events in New York, where he reached the semi-finals, and Oslo, where he finished runner-up to Andrey Rublev.
UTS is attracting both players and big crowds to its events, as Mouratoglou put a modern twist on tennis to help increase the speed of the game.
At London’s UTS Grand final, the total prize money will be a sum of $2.165million, with a maximum of $921.800 available to the winner of the competition.
Photo by LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
During a chat with Tennis365, De Minaur was honest about the prize being a motivating factor in playing on the UTS Tour.
“I find the noise and chaos of UTS a little easier to deal with when I know it’s coming and that’s the case in UTS,” the Australian said. “When everything is quiet, you hear every noise, but it’s never quiet at UTS and it showed me that I can play like that.
“You get used to the fact that the crowd are going nuts, screaming and the music is playing and it means you have to find a different way to focus on playing points.
“The money is also good at the UTS events and that makes it super competitive. We are all out there trying to win and that big pay cheque at the end of the week is driving everyone on. It gets the best out of the players.”
Is Alex de Minaur playing in the UTS Grand Final?
After a strong showing on the UTS Tour in 2024, De Minaur will compete in the UTS Grand Final.
It will take place at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from December 6-8. Eight players will take part and they will be split into two groups.
Group A will feature Rublev, Gael Monfils, Ugo Humbert and Thanasi Kokkinakis, while group B will include De Minaur, Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune and Jan-Lennard Struff.
The top two players will progress from each group into the semi-finals, and from there will compete for a place in the final for the chance to win the title.
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