Carlos Alcaraz is set to play Andrey Rublev tomorrow but the Spaniard had to cut short his practice and could yet be replaced in Turin if he decides to withdraw with illness. But who would come in and how much would they earn whether sat on the sidelines or not.
Last week at the WTA Finals, there was a similar situation in which saw Daria Kasatkina step in and earn over $300,000 for playing one match and getting well beaten by Iga Swiatek.
It would be
Grigor Dimitrov who is first in after missing qualification only just. While
Stefanos Tsitsipas would be next after that and he is known to be in Turin after tweeting a response to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals account. He said: "Would love to join, but I'm currently too busy in Turin...waiting...patiently...very patiently... as an alternate." This after he was asked to show them his volleys after making fun of his girlfriend Paula Badosa on a video posted.
Alcaraz cancelled his practice session after five minutes and after losing to Casper Ruud, the Norwegian noticed that he wasn't feeling well. He was also seen wearing nasal strips so likely has some flu or illness which is giving him issues. Juan Carlos Ferrero said that he would play against Rublev but it will be difficult.
"As soon as he moves a little, he has trouble breathing. His chest is a little tight. A bad time to get sick. We must not anticipate whether he will play or not tomorrow. We have all played in these circumstances. I think he will not get to the point where he will not go on court. It will be difficult for him to be 100% tomorrow," he said as per German R. Abril.
Albeit some held resentment towards Tsitsipas potentially taking a spot. He played last year while being hampered and comments below his reply were remarking about his decision not to withdraw and hand Hubert Hurkacz a chance. For being an alternate, you receive $155,000 to merely sit on the sidelines. That would jump up to $331,000 if they end up playing. A round-robin win even with no stakes sits at $396,500.