Throughout history, famous rivalries have captivated audiences. Yankees vs Red Sox in baseball, Ali vs Frazier in boxing, and McQuaid vs Aquinas in all things high school, just to name a few. A rivalry for a new generation is captivating tennis fans from around the world. Between Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, currently ranked No. 1, and Italian Jannik Sinner at a close second. The duo have accounted for winning all of the Grand Slam majors within the past two years.
For those unfamiliar with tennis, there are four major two-week long tennis tournaments throughout the year; the Australian Open on all blue hard courts, Roland Garros (also known as the French Open) on red clay, The Championships Wimbledon on grass, and the US Open on blue and green hard court. In addition to the four majors, there are nine one-week long Masters 1000 tournaments around the world throughout the year.
At these majors, certain players have reigned supreme. Novak Djokovic is king in Australia, having won the tournament 10 times. Rafael Nadal won Roland Garros 14 times. Roger Federer won Wimbledon eight times and is tied for the most US Open wins with five, which he won consecutively. Now, with this history lesson behind us, let’s talk this generations next great players.
Carlos Alcaraz is 22 years old and from El Palmar, a small village in Eastern Spain. Alcaraz has been playing professionally since the age of 14 and was the first teenager ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world, at nineteen years old. Alcaraz is also an avid chess player; Chess.com has even made a “chess bot” in his honor. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf and has made his golf swing a post-match victory celebration.
Jannik Sinner is 24 years old. He hails from Sexten, Italy, a little German-speaking town in the Alps. Believe it or not, he almost wasn’t a tennis player. When Jannik was eight years old, he was the number one skier in the Italy for the Giant Slalom. He switched to tennis at age thirteen, but his past in high-level skiing is often credited with his great movement on the tennis courts. Like many professional tennis players, Jannik currently lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco, but is often seen driving his grey-and-yellow Ferrari through his hometown on his way to his parents’ house.
In 2024, the pair both won two Grand Slam titles: Alcaraz at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Sinner at both hard court majors in New York and Melbourne. In addition, Sinner won four Masters 1000 level tournaments in Miami, Cincinnati, Shanghai and at the ATP Finals in Turin. After posting these impressive results, Alcaraz and Sinner established the next year’s hot-ticket rivalry. In the process, while Alcaraz won roughly $10 million in prize money to Sinner’s $17 million, it was Alcaraz won all three of their head-to-head match-ups that year.
In the 2025 season, Sinner won the first major of the year in Australia. However, in the following weeks, Alcaraz and Sinner played against each other in the finals of the Rome Open, a Masters 1000 level event, where Alcaraz won in straight sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, beating Sinner at his home tournament.
The next major was Roland Garros, where our two rivals played against each other in the finals. Alcaraz was once again victorious, this time in five sets, 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-2). The match lasted an astonishing five hours and twenty-nine minutes, setting a record for the longest French Open final in the open era. In that moment, tennis analysts were certain Alcaraz had Sinner’s number, but then came Wimbledon, a tournament Alcaraz had won the year before. Sinner shocked the world by beating Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Expectations did not disappoint at the 2025 US Open. An estimated three million viewers tuned in to see the much anticipated finals, which carried a first-place prize of over $5 million. Alcaraz pulled off the win in four sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in front of more than 23,000 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Thus far this year, Alcaraz has won over $15 million to Sinner’s $11 million. That said, the year is not over and upwards of five million dollars is still up for grabs.
In 2026, will Sinner finally beat Alcaraz at Roland Garros? Will Alcaraz end Sinner’s two-year-long win streak in Melbourne? Who will be crowned the undisputed world No. 1? Only one way to find out.
