Day: September 7, 2025

In 2025, for the first time in modern tennis history, the same two men met in three major tennis tournament finals in the same calendar year. And this was no fluky occurrence. These two players, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, 22, and Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, are far and away the two best players on the planet, and if they remain in good health, stand to hold that distinction for years to come. They’re young and hungry and have already won every major tournament of the past two seasons. Alcaraz won their first duel, at the French Open in Paris, and his comeback, five-set, 5-plus-hours thriller still stands as the outstanding sports moment of the year. Sinner got Alcaraz back with a clinical four-set victory at Wimbledon.   

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As for the final chapter of this year’s debut Alcaraz-Sinner trilogy: advantage, Carlos.

Under the watchful eye of President Donald Trump and a host of other glittering names (Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Hart, and Ben Stiller, among them), Alcaraz outlasted Sinner 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in an inspiring effort that put all his brilliance on display. He reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking, and the U.S. Open win, the second of Alcaraz’s career, already gives him six grand-slam championships for his career. Worth repeating: he’s 22.  

“I’m seeing you more than my family,” Alcaraz told Sinner on the court after the match. 

Wearing a sleeveless pink shirt showing off his NFL-caliber musculature, the hair he famously shaved off before the tournament growing in quite nicely, Alcaraz had his redheaded opponent, who was clad in University of Texas burnt orange, bouncing around the court during rallies. Twice in the first set—which began with Arthur Ashe Stadium about half full, since hordes of fans were waiting in line to go through the security checkpoints erected due to Trump’s presence in his hometown borough of Queens—Sinner slipped, unable to change direction as quickly as Alcaraz’s shots required. 

Alcaraz broke Sinner’s serve in a back-and-forth, eight-minute first game; Sinner made a couple of surprising unforced errors, a bad sign for him. Alcaraz never looked back, really. He finished the match with 10 aces, to Sinner’s two. He doubled up Sinner’s winners count, 42 to 21. Alcaraz didn’t double-fault the entire match. 

While Sinner responded in the second set, highlighted by a backhand smash that ended a 19-shot rally and got the crowd behind him, albeit briefly, Alcaraz wasted no time blunting Sinner’s momentum in the third. After hitting a winner to go up 3-0, he held his hand to his ear, asking for noise. The fans obliged. 

(Trump, who received what can charitably be called a lukewarm reaction from the crowd when his face was blasted on the jumbotron–he smiled stiffly as mostly boos were interspersed with some cheering–left his seat, in the Rolex box across from the chair umpire, after Alcaraz took the 3-0 third-set lead. But he wasn’t running back to the White House, it turns out. He returned in the fourth.)

Early in the fourth set, Sinner rushed in to catch an Alcaraz drop shot: he reached it, with plenty of time, and had room on the other side for a winner. But with Alcaraz also at the net—ready as always to further frustrate Sinner—Sinner pushed it wider than he needed to, giving Alcaraz the point instead. Alcaraz broke Sinner’s serve that game, and with Alcaraz serving for the match up 5-4, Sinner again made a backhand error on an Alcaraz drop shot that gave Alcaraz match point. Thanks to a rocket return of an Alcaraz second serve, Sinner created some drama to tie the game at 40-all. Two points later, however, on Alcaraz’s third championship point, Sinner’s racket barely touched a 131-m.p.h. Alcaraz serve that finished the bout. 

Alcaraz spread his arms wide, smiled at his team’s box, and dropped his head into Sinner’s shoulder at the net as the pair exchanged pleasantries.     

At the last major sporting event held in the United States that the President attended, the FIFA Club World Cup in July, Trump lingered too long at the trophy ceremony, overshadowing the accomplishments of the athletes. This time, he stayed in the box as Alcaraz and Sinner were honored on the court following the match. Neither player acknowledged the President in his speech. 

Tennis fans are incredibly spoiled. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer retired, and almost right away, Alcaraz and Sinner emerged to carry the sport forward. There was barely a post-Federer/Nadal hangover. Alcaraz and Sinner split the 2025 majors, with a pair of victories apiece. And Sinner had an awesome year. He’s one of four men’s players to have reached the finals of all four major tournaments in the same season: Rod Laver during his 1969 Grand Slam season, Federer (2006, 2007, 2009), Novak Djokovic (2015, 2021, and 2023), and now Sinner in 2025.  

Last and best word, though, goes to Alcaraz.