Jannik Sinner is ‘obsessed’ with Carlos Alcaraz, claims former world No 1

Ewan West 05 Nov 2025 5:10 PM

Pictured: Jannik Sinner with Carlos Alcaraz inset

Jannik Sinner with inset of Carlos Alcaraz

Retired French tennis star Nicolas Mahut has declared that Jannik Sinner is “obsessed” with Carlos Alcaraz as he gave his verdict on the ATP year-end No 1 battle.

Sinner and Alcaraz have established a duopoly since the start of 2024, having each won four of the last eight Grand Slams, and their rivalry has reached sensational heights this season.

The pair faced off in the finals at five straight tournaments in which they both entered: the Italian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open.

Nicolas Mahut thinks Jannik Sinner is “obsessed” with Carlos Alcaraz

Nicolas Mahut thinks the statements Jannik Sinner has made prove that the Italian is “obsessed” with Carlos Alcaraz
The former doubles world No 1 declared that Sinner “knows” he will win on indoor courts “if he plays to his potential”
Mahut is “not convinced” Sinner will finish 2025 as world No 1 — even if he goes undefeated at the ATP Finals

Sinner overtook Alcaraz to climb to the top of the ATP Rankings this week after winning the Paris Masters. Alcaraz had occupied top spot since replacing Sinner after winning the US Open in September.

The 24-year-old Italian will, however, return to world No 2 next week as he will drop the points he earned for winning the 2024 ATP Finals at the start of this year’s edition of the event.

Alcaraz will end the season as world No 1 if he wins three matches or reaches the final at the ATP Finals. Sinner must win the title in Turin, and hope Alcaraz fails to win three matches, to clinch the year-end top spot.

What Mahut said about Sinner

Speaking on the Winning Comeback show on Eurosport France, Mahut looked ahead to the ATP Finals from Sinner’s perspective.

“He (Sinner) can still improve his transition game, his attacking game, his net game. And above all, when you read his statements, he’s obsessed with Alcaraz,” said Mahut (translated from French).

Tennis News

Why Carlos Alcaraz ‘has to be careful’ as Jannik Sinner labelled ‘almost unbeatable’ by Slam winner

Shocking Carlos Alcaraz statistic suggests one area of his game needs to be improved

“We’ll come back to the world number 1 ranking. If it’s insignificant at the end of the Paris tournament, it will be much less so at the end of the year. Everyone talked to him about it all week. I’m convinced he hasn’t thought about it.

“Indoors, he figures that if he’s in form, he’ll win. He’s humble, but he knows that if he plays to his potential, he’ll win.

“But I’m not convinced he’ll stay number 1 even if he wins all his matches [at the ATP Finals] because I don’t see Alcaraz not winning three matches.”

What comments has Sinner made about Alcaraz?

While Mahut did not identify the specific “statements” he mentioned, it seems likely he was referring to what Sinner said after losing to Alcaraz in the 2025 US Open final.

Following a decisive four-set defeat to Alcaraz in New York, Sinner expressed his desire to become “more unpredictable” in order to be more effective against his chief rival.

“I was very predictable today on court. He did many things, he changed up the game. That’s also his style of how he plays. Now it’s going to be on me if I want to make changes or not,” Sinner said in his press conference after the US Open final.

“That’s definitely [what] we are going to work on. I’m trying to be more prepared for the next match that I will play against him.

“It also depends on how you arrive to play against Carlos. One thing is when the scoreline [or] matches before are comfortable but you always do the same things, like I did, for example, during this tournament, I didn’t make one serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots, and then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone.

“So I’m going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player, because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player. At the end of the day, that’s my main goal.”