Renewal Beyond the Lines: 2025’s Memorable Off-Court Escapes

As the 2025 season concluded its whirlwind of rivalries and redemptions, ATPTour.com launched our annual ‘Best Of’ series to celebrate the year’s defining threads. While baseline duels and net charges dominated the narrative, the tour’s human side shone through in off-court episodes that revealed the personalities fueling those on-court explosions. These moments, from playful exchanges to profound meetings, offered glimpses into how players balanced the precision of crosscourt rallies with life’s broader rhythms, sustaining their drive through a calendar crammed with majors and Masters.

Banter softens the hard-court launch

Novak Djokovic opened his year with a crisp New Year’s Eve win at the Brisbane International, his serve slicing through the humid air to set up inside-out forehands that overwhelmed his opponent on the outdoor hard courts. In the on-court interview, the Serb turned his attention to coach Andy Murray, who was absent due to a family ski trip and set to join later for the Australian Open’s faster indoor surfaces. Djokovic’s light warning about avoiding injuries on the slopes carried the weight of their shared injury histories, a reminder of how fragile momentum can be amid the early-season push for ranking points.

Murray’s response arrived swiftly, blending humor with reassurance to ease the pre-Melbourne tension. Such exchanges strengthened their bond, allowing Djokovic to refine his return patterns against lefties with Murray’s guidance once reunited.

I’m taking on some huge slopes as you can see but no injuries just yet https://t.co/fqdBbMzNZJ pic.twitter.com/4E5QUYUOQc

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) December 31, 2024

Fashion forays counter clay-court grind

In March, as the tour pivoted to Europe’s red clay with its demands for sliding defense and topspin loops, left-handers Ben Shelton and Jack Draper paused for a Vogue feature that dubbed them ‘Two Princes.' The photoshoot captured their poised ascent, a stylish break from drilling one–two combinations to disrupt baseline stalemates on slower surfaces like Monte Carlo’s courts.

At the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, GQ gathered six qualifiers for a downtown hotel session, their images evoking the event’s polished intensity away from the indoor hard courts’ quick exchanges and down-the-line passes. These interludes arrived when fatigue from extended rallies peaked, offering a mental reset akin to varying slice approaches to throw off aggressive returners.

Divine meetings fuel Italian resolve

Jannik Sinner‘s spring campaign crested with his first final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where Rome’s clay tested his flat backhand with the need for added underspin to control longer points. Just days before, the Italian visited Vatican City for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, a encounter that seemed to imbue his game with quiet determination amid the home crowd’s fervent support.

The tournament’s social update captured the moment’s gravity, highlighting Sinner’s roots in a season where defending No. 1 meant adapting serve placements to exploit ad-court weaknesses on varied bounces.

When in Rome…

Jannik Sinner met Pope Leo XIV this morning

: Vatican Media#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/tYg7fCN3zx

— Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 14, 2025

Sinner’s inspirations reached further in June, when the top-ranked player released a song with famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, titled Polvere e Gloria (Dust and Glory). This melodic venture provided an artistic counterpoint to his tactical evolutions, like layering crosscourt depth to set up inside-in winners during grass-court transitions.

Golf swings test former champions’ poise

As Wimbledon loomed with its low-bouncing grass favoring serve-volley rushes and precise slice lobs, Carlos Alcaraz and Andy Murray took to the fairways together, both tempering expectations about their games. Alcaraz admitted “I’m not that good,” while Murray quipped “I know, I know, I’m terrible at golf,” their candor reflecting the humility required to adjust footwork for turf’s quick slides.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, whose rivalry redefined all-court strategies across surfaces, hit the fairways together in Mallorca in July at the Pula Golf Resort, their outing evoking enduring camaraderie. Alcaraz might draw tips from Casper Ruud, the tour’s top golfer whose focus mirrors his clay-court consistency in forcing errors through steady baseline pressure.

Island getaways recharge year-end drive

Alcaraz capped his season as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF, but he carved out escapes that punctuated his triumphs. Before the Laver Cup at San Francisco’s Chase Center, the Spaniard toured Alcatraz Island, its storied isolation a stark contrast to the team event’s hard-court doubles and mixed tactics; Team World claimed a 15-9 victory, securing the trophy for another year.

Earlier, after rallying from three championship points down against Sinner in the Roland Garros final—a clay epic where Alcaraz varied drop shots and net rushes to seize control—he headed to Ibiza in June for time with friends. “The craziest thing was probably staying out really late,” Alcaraz later said. “I danced a bit, but nothing more than what a normal person would do.”

These off-court breaths, woven through a year of surface shifts and psychological duels, fortified the elite for 2026’s fresh challenges, where renewed energy could tip tight tiebreaks and redefine legacies on the baseline.