Alcaraz and Sinner forge a rivalry for the ages
Six finals in 2025 saw Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner trade majors and momentum, their battles blending raw power with unyielding mental resolve across shifting surfaces.
As 2025 drew to a close, the ATP Tour highlighted the standout rivalries that captivated fans, and none burned brighter than the one between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. They clashed six times, every encounter a final, with the Spaniard taking four to widen his head-to-head lead to 10-6. These matches delivered unpredictable drama, turning each tournament into a psychological and tactical showdown that elevated the sport.
Rome and Paris demand clay-court grit
In Rome, Sinner sought to end a 49-year drought for an Italian men’s champion there, arriving off his Australian Open win. Alcaraz denied him in the final, 7-6(5), 6-1, by holding firm on two set points at 6-5 in the opener, where Sinner’s forehand error and backhand slip opened the door. The Spaniard deployed his slice serve from the deuce side to jam returns, racking up 19 winners to the Italian’s seven and ending a 26-match streak.
This victory showcased Alcaraz’s ability to mix underspin with aggressive crosscourt forehands on the slow clay, keeping rallies tight and forcing errors. The crowd at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia fed off the tension, their cheers amplifying the pressure as Sinner chased history. Alcaraz later noted the unique intensity of facing his rival.
“He has that aura,” Alcaraz said of Sinner. “When you’re seeing him on the other side of the net, it’s different. That’s why obviously I’m feeling that the people are putting so much pressure in a certain way to both of us when we are facing each other.”
Five weeks later at Roland Garros, the stakes soared on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where Alcaraz staged a legendary comeback from two sets down to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) in five hours and 29 minutes—the longest men’s final in tournament history. Sinner served two championship points at 3-5, 0/40 in the fourth, but Alcaraz held with kick serves and down-the-line backhands, then broke to level it. In the fifth-set tie-break, the first ever there for a men’s final, he fired winner after winner, sealing it with a forehand pass.
The Parisian night pulsed with the crowd’s roars as Alcaraz regrouped after failing to serve out at 5-4, his mental reset turning potential defeat into triumph. This marked the third time in the Open Era a player saved championship points in a major final and won, joining Novak Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio. Sinner’s leads evaporated under the weight of Alcaraz’s relentless one–two patterns, blending topspin drives with defensive slices to extend points until cracks appeared.
Alcaraz reflected on thriving in chaos.
“I think the real champions are made in situations when you deal with that pressure, with those situations, in the best way possible,” he said.
Wimbledon flips the script on grass
Sinner channeled the Paris pain into a bold resurgence at Wimbledon, toppling two-time defending champion Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to claim his first title on the lawns. From 4-2 down in the opener, he rallied with aggressive returns, taking big cuts to disrupt the Spaniard’s serve and extend rallies where his flat shots thrived on the low bounce. In the final set, Sinner dropped just one point behind his first delivery and converted all nine net approaches, a grass-court clinic that silenced doubts.
The All England Club buzzed with anticipation for Sinner’s response to defeat, and he delivered by punishing longer exchanges with inside-in forehands that hugged the lines. This win broke a five-match skid against Alcaraz in major finals, restoring balance and boosting his ranking edge heading into summer. The Italian’s tactical shift—prioritizing serve-and-volley over baseline grinding—exploited the surface’s speed, limiting Alcaraz’s explosive groundstrokes.
During the trophy ceremony, Sinner opened up about processing loss.
“It’s mostly emotional, because I had a very tough loss in Paris,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you win or how you lose at important tournaments, you just have to understand what you did wrong and try to work on that, and that’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just kept working. This is for sure one of the reasons I am holding this trophy here.”
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS @janniksin | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/WqPYkmGSDf
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 13, 2025
Hard courts and indoors cap intense swings
Cincinnati’s August heat brought an abrupt twist, with Sinner retiring at 0-5 after 23 minutes, physically spent and calling for the trainer. He had hoped overnight rest would help but worsened, apologizing to fans for the short match. Alcaraz consoled him at the net, then lifted his first title there and eighth Masters 1000 crown, the most among active players save Djokovic’s 40—a sweet redemption from his 2023 championship-point loss to the Serb.
On the hard courts, Alcaraz’s crosscourt angles opened the court efficiently, though the match’s brevity spared deeper tactical probes. Sinner’s withdrawal added mental strain after Wimbledon’s high, disrupting his rhythm as the US Open approached. Yet it preserved energy for later battles, underscoring how physical edges can tip rivalries on faster surfaces.
Sinner explained his condition post-match.
“From yesterday I didn’t feel great,” he said. “I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse. I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more.”
Alcaraz savored the moment.
“Since I lost that final in 2023, I wanted this trophy really, really badly,” he said. “I’m just really proud and happy to be able to lift it.”
At Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz dominated the US Open final 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, thwarting Sinner’s title defense and reclaiming World No. 1 after the Italian’s 65-week stay atop the rankings. He unleashed 42 winners to Sinner’s 21, dictating with ferocious baseline play and dropping only nine points on first serve. Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero deemed it perfect tennis, a view Alcaraz endorsed, his inside-out forehands and serve variety keeping the Italian pinned.
The New York crowd’s energy crackled as Alcaraz controlled rallies, his consistency shining after Cincinnati. This marked the second straight year they split the four majors, combining for eight in a row and fueling mutual growth. Their practices zeroed in on countering each other, sharpening edges for every surface.
Alcaraz praised the dynamic.
“He always wants me to play at my best, and not too many times I would say he’s said that, that I played perfectly. So for me, it’s a great win,” he said. “But, yeah, he’s right. I think I played perfect. I played perfectly.”
“I think we push each other to the limit every time,” Alcaraz added of the rivalry. “My practices are just focused to see how I can be better just to beat Jannik. So I think the rivalry is special, splitting Grand Slams, fighting for great things.”
CHAMPION AGAIN NUMBER ONE, ONCE MORE
Alcaraz triumphs in New York, lifting the trophy again AND reclaiming his spot as World No.1 in the PIF ATP Rankings with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 win over Sinner @usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/jKOqQMGS7E— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 7, 2025
The Nitto ATP Finals in Turin provided a fitting climax under the home crowd’s roar, where Sinner edged Alcaraz 7-6(4), 7-5 with revamped serving that yielded 84 percent first-serve points. Post-US Open tweaks with coach Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi boosted accuracy, including a 117 mph second serve to save a set point. Undefeated at 5-0 for the week, he pocketed a record $5,071,000, his pinpoint delivery leaving few cracks.
The indoor hard courts favored Sinner’s power, as he held firm in tight sets, blending flat returns with down-the-line backhands to neutralize Alcaraz’s attacks. This victory evened the year’s psychological ledger, proving resilience after setbacks like Cincinnati. Cahill highlighted the serve’s role, the one shot fully in control, as key to the Italian’s end-of-season surge.
Cahill elaborated on the adjustments.
“You have control over one shot in tennis, and that is the serve,” he said. “Jannik and Simone [Vagnozzi] have done some incredible work over the last four or five weeks to rejig the serve and find that rhythm and tempo where he has been able to up the first-serve percentage.”
Sinner looked back on his growth.
“I feel I am a better player than last year, I think this is the most important. it’s all part of the process. I always say and believe that if you keep working and trying to be a better player, the results, they’re going to come. This year it was like this.”
Through these clashes, Alcaraz and Sinner not only redefined supremacy but set the stage for deeper rivalries ahead, their mutual drive promising more epics on every surface.
