Jannik Sinner told what Carlos Alcaraz will be ‘looking out for’ him doing next time they face each other

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Jannik Sinner was able to obtain bragging rights over Carlos Alcaraz heading into 2026 after beating him to win the ATP Finals.

Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the ATP Tour in 2025, and have now shared the last eight Grand Slam titles.

However, the Spaniard has had the advantage in their rivalry, including Alcaraz beating Sinner in the US Open final, which was their last official match before the ATP Finals.

Sinner was able to surprise Alcaraz at the ATP Finals, and former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs has told him what could happen when they next play each other.

Rennae Stubbs tells Jannik Sinner what Carlos Alcaraz could do when they next play

Sinner was criticised for his serving against Alcaraz in the US Open final, and that has been one of the things he has been working on the most since failing to defend his title in New York.

When reflecting on the match between Sinner and Alcaraz at the ATP Finals, six-time Grand Slam champion Stubbs explained what she noticed about the Italian’s serve.

Stubbs particularly pinpointed how much Sinner was going for his second serve, which she believes Alcaraz will be more wary of when they next play one another.

“I think one of the things Carlos will be looking out for if he does play Jannik in the next match, is that Jannik was taking a lot of chances on his second serve,” Stubbs said on her podcast. “There were some huge points in that match where Jannik went for his second serve.

“Instead of just hitting that 90mph kick serve, he was going 100mph harder and flatter. It was pushing Carlos back off of the baseline and creating errors off of the return and keeping him not in the driver’s seat.

“Jannik was in the driver’s seat with his first and second serve. I think he learned a big lesson from the losses that he had, was that he had to take a few more chances and he did that on his second serve and serve in general.

“That again is what you can do indoors. I bring it back to myself in this situation and I went for more on my second serve indoors as well, because technically I had a good serve and technically he has a very good serve. He can afford to go for it more indoors because there is no wind or sun, so you can take a few more chances so you know you are going to make it more than you are going to miss.

“Outdoors with the wind and sun, you have to be a little bit careful. The wind can take it a bit further than you wanted to, but his serve is so good that he knows he can take those chances.”

Jannik Sinner’s serving statistics in the US Open final vs ATP Finals Final

There was a noticeable difference in Sinner’s serve throughout the ATP Finals this year, and he was only broken once throughout the entire tournament.

Alcaraz was the only player to break Sinner’s serve, but there were still some significant improvements in the statistics from the US Open final.

Particularly in terms of the number of points Sinner won against Alcaraz on his first serve, which increased by 15%.

Sinner also quadrupled the number of aces he hit against Alcaraz in just two sets, compared to the four sets they played in the US Open final.

The points Stubbs was making about Sinner going more for his second serve is also supported by the statistics, as he hit more double faults at the ATP Finals, but was rewarded with a higher win percentage.

Sinner has played Alcaraz six times this year, and they will next be able to go head-to-head in the final of the Australian Open.