Stefanos Tsitsipas earned $75,000 for playing three games before retiring at 2023 ATP Finals

It has been revealed that Stefanos Tsitsipas earned $75,000 for the three games he played against Holger Rune in his second group stage match at the 2023 ATP Finals, after which he retired from the clash due to injury.

Tsitsipas has seen a lot of success at the ATP Finals in the past, having even won the tournament in 2019. In 2023, he qualified for the prestigious season-ending championship for the fifth consecutive year, but it ended in him being booed off the court after he was forced to retire due to injury.

The unfortunate incident occurred in his second group stage clash. The Greek player had lost his first match against Jannik Sinner in straight sets and was facing Rune to try and give himself a shot at the semi-finals. However, it was clear early on that something was wrong, and just three games in he was forced to retire from the tournament.

It has now been revealed that the World No. 6 earned $75,000 for those three games alone - $25,000 per game. On top of this, he earned $244,000 for his match against Sinner. Many of the fans who had paid for tickets to his match against Rune were unhappy with his decision to try and play only to retire early on, leading to several boos from the crowd as he left the court at the Pala Alpitour.

However, the 25-year-old was very apologetic to fans and said that his decision to try and play came after he got the green light from doctors: "I apologize to all the fans and the crowd who came to support me and watch the match today. I'm really sorry that I wasn't able to finish the match. It was also a shame not to give space to another tennis player. The doctors, after all the visits I have undergone in recent days, suggested I play.

"They gave me the green light to give it a try. Unfortunately, I felt very bad on the court. I did everything I could to be ready for this match, but it didn't work. I hate retiring during a match, I'm not that kind of person. It devastates me that I won't be able to finish this tournament," he said.

After his withdrawal, first and second alternates Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz, the latter of whom was also injured, came on the court to play an exhibition set, which Hurkacz won convincingly. The Polish player is now set to replace Tsitsipas in what would have been the latter's final Group Stage clash of the tournament against Novak Djokovic.