Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz: the rivalry so far
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz's rivalry has marked a new beginning in men's tennis. A clean break from the 'Big Three' era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, both players are competing in a thrilling rivalry which has generated even more popularity in the sport, especially in the wake of Federer and Nadal's respective retirements. Though Sinner and Alcaraz are aged just 24 and 22, they have already competed against each other on 14 occasions in the space of less than four years. They have dominated the sport over the past two years and have won the last seven majors in total.
Ahead of their 2025 US Open final, we take a look at all their previous meetings:
2021 Paris Masters (hard) - Second Round - Alcaraz wins 7-6, 7-5
The defining tennis rivalry of this decade began in the autumn of 2021. Alcaraz, just 18 at the time and ranked 35 in the world, pulled off an upset as he defeated a 20-year-old Sinner in straight sets at the Paris Masters. This scuppered Sinner’s chances of a first outing at the World Tour Finals later that month.
2022 Wimbledon (grass) - Round of 16 - Sinner wins 6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
Their second tour-level meeting would be the first at major level. Sinner’s rise had stalled somewhat, with Alcaraz overtaking him in the rankings and picking up the first two Masters tournaments of his career in early 2022. Despite being seen as the favourite as the fifth seed, Alcaraz was defeated by Sinner, who notched his first victory over the Spaniard in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Alcaraz saved a match point in the third set to force a fourth, but the Italian was too good on the day.
2022 Croatian Open (clay) - Final - Sinner wins 6-7 6-1 6-1
Sinner then followed that up with a win in the final of the Croatian Open just a few weeks later, taking the lead in the head-to-head. This was the first final between the pair, with Sinner dominating the match after losing the first set on a tiebreak.
2022 US Open (hard) - Quarter-Final - Alcaraz wins 6-3 6-7 6-7 7-5 6-3
They faced each other in the next major at the US Open and it turned out to be one of the most dramatic matches of the year, as Alcaraz overcame Sinner in a five set quarter-final epic, saving a match point and coming through to win after five hours and 15 minutes. The contest ended at 2:50am, the latest finish in the history of the tournament. Alcaraz would go on to win the event and claim his first major title, becoming the world number one for the first time in the process.
2023 Indian Wells (hard) - Semi-Final - Alcaraz wins 7-6 6-3
They next met in Indian Wells at the beginning of the following year, with Alcaraz winning relatively comfortably in straight sets en route to the title.
2023 Miami Open (hard) - Semi-Final - Sinner wins 6-7 6-4 6-2
However, Sinner exacted revenge just two weeks later in Miami as he came from a set down to win and end Alcaraz’s hopes of a maiden Sunshine Double. However, his hopes of a first Masters 1000 title were dashed in the final as he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
2023 China Open (hard) - Semi-Final - Sinner wins 7-6 6-1
The Italian then defeated Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the Beijing Open towards the end of 2023, going on to win the title against Medvedev as he continued his upwards trajectory.
2024 Indian Wells (hard) - Semi-Final - Alcaraz wins 1-6 6-3 6-2
At this point, Sinner led the head-to-head 4-3 and claimed his first major title at the Australian Open in January 2024. Nevertheless, Alcaraz won their next meeting two months later, overcoming a poor start to defeat the Italian in the semi-finals of Indian Wells as he retained his title.
2024 French Open (clay) - Semi-Final - Alcaraz wins 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3
They then met for the first time at the French Open. Sinner controlled the middle part of the match and was just a set away from the final, but Alcaraz recovered to win in five, going on to win his maiden Roland Garros title against Alexander Zverev two days later.
2024 China Open (hard) - Final - Alcaraz wins 6-7 6-4 7-6
Alcaraz made it three from three in 2024 over his rival as he beat Sinner in three sets in the final of the Beijing Open, overcoming a deficit in the final set tiebreak to go 6-4 up in the head-to-head. Despite that loss, Sinner enjoyed a fine end to the year, as he won the Shanghai Masters and World Tour Finals, finishing the year as world number one for the first time.
2025 Italian Open (clay) - Final - Alcaraz wins 7-6 6-1
Nevertheless, Alcaraz continued to have the upper hand in the head-to-head. Sinner returned from a doping ban at his home tournament in Rome, advancing to the final where he faced the Spaniard. The world number two edged a tight first set and dominated the second to claim another Masters title and continue his winning streak.
2025 French Open (clay) - Final - Alcaraz wins 4-6 6-7 6-4 7-6 7-6
They then faced each other in the final of the French Open. In what is already seen as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, Alcaraz saved three championship points and came from two sets to love down to defeat Sinner after five hours and 29 minutes, the longest final in Roland Garros history. This was the first time the Spaniard had come from two sets to love down to win.
2025 Wimbledon (grass) - Final - Sinner wins 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
Their next meeting was less than a month later in the Wimbledon final with Sinner coming from a set down to claim his first major title at SW19 and end two-time defending champion Alcaraz’s five match winning run over him. This was also Alcaraz’s first loss in a major final and ensured Sinner remained unbeaten against him on grass.
2025 Cincinnati Open (hard) - Final - Alcaraz wins 5-0 (ret)
In both players’ next tournament, they met again in the final of the Cincinnati Open. Sinner was the defending champion, but he was forced to retire in the first set due to illness, with Alcaraz leading 5-0 at the time.
They are due to resume their rivalry for the third major final running at the US Open, which will also decide the world number one ranking. Despite Alcaraz leading the head-to-head 9-5 and 6-2 on hard courts, Sinner has won the last three hard court majors, reached the last five slam finals overall and has the opportunity to tie the Grand Slam head-to-head between the pair at 3-3 with a victory in the final.
Click here to read our preview and prediction for the 2025 US Open final!
The duo enjoy a respectful and cordial relationship off the court but given the lack of competition from the rest of the field, the rivalry between the pair is likely to only evolve further as the 2020s progress.
Three greatest Sinner-Alcaraz matches so far: 2022 US Open quarter-final, 2024 China Open final, 2025 French Open final
