Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are set to face off in the 2025 ATP Finals final in Turin. But here’s the thing – they’ve already played each other once this week.
Before the tournament started, the two practiced together. And Alcaraz lost that practice set pretty badly.
Tennis players usually practice with someone they can’t meet until later in the tournament. It makes sense – why give away your game plan to someone you might face in the first round?
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
At the ATP Finals, that means picking someone from the other group.
Alcaraz and Sinner were the top two seeds, so they knew they wouldn’t meet in the round-robin stage. Plus, both were heavy favorites to win their groups.
If they were going to play each other, it was probably going to be in the final.
The Practice Session That Might Matter
One week later, that prediction came true. This will be their sixth meeting this year – and their sixth final against each other.
The Spanish star has been on a roll lately, winning four of their last five matches and seven of their last eight overall.
Alcaraz beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in his semi-final, while Sinner took care of Alex de Minaur. Sinner finished his match much earlier, which meant Alcaraz only had time for quick interviews in the mixed zone instead of a full press conference.
When reporters asked about facing Sinner in the final, Alcaraz dropped an interesting detail about their practice session.
"He beat me 6-3 pretty easily, to be honest. In sport, is a totally different feeling from going to a match. I said that playing against Jannik on indoor court is one of the best or most difficult challenge that we have in tennis right now. I think he has a winning streak of 30, 31 matches in a row."
Sinner’s been on an absolute tear lately. That winning streak Alcaraz mentioned? It’s real, and it’s been happening mostly on indoor courts.
Playing in Enemy Territory
The 21-year-old Spaniard knows he’s facing more than just Sinner tomorrow.
"On an indoor court, we’re playing in front of his home crowd. That makes it even more difficult to play against him. But I’m ready to take the challenge and I’m ready to play really good tennis."
Turin isn’t exactly Sinner’s hometown, but it’s close enough. The Italian crowd will definitely be pulling for their guy.
Still, Alcaraz isn’t letting that practice loss get to him. Practice sets are weird – sometimes the pressure’s off, sometimes you’re working on specific things, sometimes you’re just not locked in yet.
He admits he was nervous at the start of the tournament. The pressure of fighting for the year-end No. 1 ranking was getting to him during the round-robin matches.
But that pressure’s gone now.
"The round-robin was I guess I play a really good tennis, but obviously I was playing for the No. 1, which the nerves were there. Dealing with those nerves, that pressure, was more difficult let’s say comparing to coming to the semifinals. I think all those nerves was gone and I could play really good tennis, pretty good level before approaching the finals."
What to Expect
This matchup has everything you want in a final. Two young superstars who genuinely seem to bring out the best in each other.
Alcaraz has the recent head-to-head advantage, but Sinner’s been practically unbeatable on indoor courts lately. Add in the home crowd support, and you’ve got a pretty compelling case for the Italian.
Then again, Alcaraz just said he’s playing without pressure for the first time this week. That could be dangerous.
The final is set for Sunday, and honestly, it’s pretty tough to predict which way this one will go.
