It’s no surprise that ESPN delivered the most-viewed tennis telecast of the year at the US Open.
When it was confirmed that the men’s singles final at Flushing Meadows would pit defending champion Jannik Sinner against second seed Carlos Alcaraz, every tennis fan, diehard or casual, cleared their schedule for the title bout.
With US President Donald Trump in attendance, the ‘new two’ produced an enthralling match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in which Alcaraz ultimately emerged victorious.
The Spaniard, still just 22 years of age, clinched his sixth Grand Slam crown, equalling the Open Era tallies of Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
His triumph marked another chapter in an already iconic rivalry, which has been taken to even greater heights this year.
The rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in 2025
The magnitude of Sinner’s battles with Alcaraz has ramped up during the 2025 ATP season, with three of the four major finals being contested by the two of them.
In June, they met for the first time in the championship match of a Grand Slam, having torn through their respective sides of the draw at Roland Garros.
What followed was arguably one of the greatest clashes the game has seen in recent memory, when, in a bout lasting five hours and 29 minutes, Alcaraz survived three match points to come back and win an incredible five-setter.
The final, compared by many to the level of Rafael Nadal’s legendary faceoff with Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2008, took the sporting world by storm.
While their meetings in London and New York did not come close to what they produced in Paris, they did put an end to a lingering doubt about the future of Grand Slam tennis.
Following the conclusion of the French Open, the major results in 2025 were beginning to emulate that of 2024, which saw Sinner take the Australian Open and the US Open, with Alcaraz claiming Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
The fear was that, for years to come, not only would both stars win every passing Grand Slam title between them, but they would build up a repetitive streak on their preferred surfaces.
Sinner looked unbeatable on hard court for the majority of the last two years, while Alcaraz’s highest win percentages have come on grass and clay.
- Clay: 84%
- Grass: 90%
- Hard: 77%
Those doubts were officially put to bed when the new world number one came out on top at the US Open less than two months after the 24-year-old got the better of him at Wimbledon.
Though many will point to the lopsided head-to-head between the two recently as evidence for the rivalry becoming tame, each of their meetings has gone down to the wire, with four of Alcaraz’s last six wins against Sinner having been claimed in a decisive third or fifth set.
They are just getting started, and until the emergence of a third star to complete a new ‘big three’, the top two-ranked ATP stars look set to dominate men’s tennis for the foreseeable.
The next big star to join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a ‘big three’
That next star does not appear to be on the horizon any time soon, but there are some potential candidates.
Ben Shelton is still, like Alcaraz, only 22, and although he is not on the same level as the US Open champion, the American has plenty of potential and will certainly improve in the coming years.
Promising young talents on the tour currently include the likes of Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, and Arthur Fils, but perhaps the teenager with the highest ceiling is Joao Fonseca.
Fonseca’s debut season has not reached the dizzy heights he would have hoped for, but the Brazilian has already cracked the world’s top 50 at 19 years of age, with a maiden tour-level title to his name.
Only time will tell, but for now, nobody appears to be getting anywhere near Sinner and Alcaraz.
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