The defining ATP Tour rivalries of 2025 – ft. Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev, Zverev
The ATP Tour threw up several convincing storylines in 2025, with plenty of interesting narratives building ahead of the 2026 season.
It was a year in which two players continued their dominance in the men’s games and swept all four Grand Slams, with few able to rival them.
Here, we look back at the rivals that helped define the 2025 ATP Tour season.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
2025 H2H: Alcaraz 4-2 Sinner
The rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner is already looking like one for the ages, and 2025 saw the two reach new heights together on court.
World No 1 Alcaraz and world No 2 Sinner made history this year by becoming the first men in the Open Era to contest three Grand Slam finals in the same era, meeting at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
Their French Open clash was undoubtedly the pick of the bunch, with Alcaraz rallying from two sets down — and saving three championship points — to edge an instant classic in Paris, prevailing 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2).
However, just weeks later, Sinner turned the tables with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory at Wimbledon, winning the title for the first time, ending Alcaraz’s hopes of a third straight SW19 title, and snapping a five-match losing streak to the Spaniard.
Following that, though, it was the world No 1’s turn to respond, Alcaraz producing a sublime performance to beat reigning champion Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the US Open.
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Alcaraz also defeated Sinner 7-6(5), 6-1 in the Italian Open final in May, and was 5-0 up when the Italian retired injured in the final of the Cincinnati Open.
However, Sinner would then end the year with victory over his toughest rival at the ATP Finals, a 7-6(4), 7-5 triumph against Alcaraz, sealing back-to-back titles in Turin for the Italian.
That win left their head-to-head 4-2 in Alcaraz’s favour for the year, and 10-6 in his favour overall, and all eyes are now on how this rivalry develops across 2026 and beyond.
Daniil Medvedev vs Learner Tien
2025 H2H: Medvedev 1-2 Tien
A difficult season for Medvedev and a major breakout year for Tien saw the former world No 1 and rising star clash on three separate — and memorable — occasions.
Their first and arguably greatest meeting came back at the Australian Open in January, a second-round meeting that would ultimately come to represent the trajectories of both men this year.
A qualifier in the draw, Tien looked set to pull off a seismic upset after moving two sets to love up, though Medvedev edged a tight third set, and looked primed for victory after a dominant fourth set.
Battling late into the night, the Russian appeared to finally crack his younger opponent by breaking serve in the 11th game of the decider — only for Tien to break back, and seal an extraordinary 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(7) victory.
As Medvedev began to slowly slip down the rankings, Tien rose significantly, and he again saw the better of his rival when they renewed their rivalry at the China Open in September.
Similar to Melbourne, the former US Open champion served for the match against the American but was unable to close it out, with Tien sealing a 5-7, 7-5, 4-0 ret. victory as his opponent faded physically.
Days after retiring in Beijing, Medvedev would finally get his first win over Tien, but it was another epic battle, the Russian sealing a dramatic 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-4 triumph at the Shanghai Masters.
They produced three of the best matches of the year, and further meetings between the two in 2026 would be more than welcome.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz
2025 H2H: Alcaraz 3-1 Fritz
Outside of Sinner, world No 6 Fritz was one of the few players able to consistently challenge year-end No 1 Alcaraz across 2025.
The first of the pair’s four meetings in 2025 came at Wimbledon, where the pair contested a thrilling — and high-quality — semi-final.
Fritz certainly had his opportunities inside Centre Court, but, as is often the case, Alcaraz proved too strong on the day, saving two set points in set four to claim a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) victory.
However, the American responded in kind with a landmark victory over the Spaniard at the Laver Cup, stunning Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 on his way to helping Team World lift the title in San Francisco.
The world No 1 quickly exacted revenge on the American less than two weeks later in the final of the Japan Open, prevailing 6-4, 6-4, though their final meeting of the year proved much more competitive.
Alcaraz and Fritz did battle for close to three hours at the ATP Finals, and, similar to their Wimbledon showdown, it was the Spaniard who was strongest in the closing stages.
The six-time Grand Slam champion rallied to claim a 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 round-robin in Turin, though it was by far and away his toughest match before defeat to Sinner in the final.
Alcaraz clearly still has the edge in this match-up, though Fritz is capable of pushing the world No 1 more than most.
Jannik Sinner vs Alexander Zverev
2025 H2H: Sinner 4-0 Zverev
Prior to 2025, Zverev had a 4-2 head-to-head lead over Sinner, though the massive momentum swing this year was representative of the gap that Sinner — alongside Alcaraz — has over the rest of the field.
Sinner and Zverev first did battle in the final of the Australian Open, and while the Italian was the pre-match favourite, the manner of his convincing 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory came as a slight surprise.
The two did not meet for another nine months after that, and their next meeting was much more competitive.
Clashing the final of the Vienna Open, Zverev was a set up and had openings to potentially triumph, though Sinner broke his resistance to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win at the ATP 500 event.
That was quickly followed by a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over a hampered Zverev in the last four of the Paris Masters, before Sinner again prevailed at the ATP Finals, beating the German 6-4, 6-3 in the round-robin phase.
World No 2 Sinner and world No 3 Zverev are next to each other in the ATP Rankings, but a 6,340-point gap sits between the two men.
It was by no means a bad year for Zverev, but perhaps no rivalry in 2025 highlighted the sheer gap the ‘New Two’ have over the rest of the field.
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