‘Tennis isn’t an open contest without Carlos Alcaraz – Jannik Sinner is simply too strong’
French Open champion Adriano Panatta has declared that men’s tennis will only become “an open contest” again when Carlos Alcaraz returns to compete with Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz won his first two tournaments of 2026 — the Australian Open and the Qatar Open — with Sinner losing in the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively at these events.
Sinner then triumphed in Indian Wells and Miami to complete the Sunshine Double, with Alcaraz falling in the semi-finals and third round respectively.
The only match between the pair so far in 2026 was their showdown in the Monte Carlo Masters final in April, which Sinner won 7-6(5), 6-3.
Alcaraz has not played since suffering a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in his only match since the Monte Carlo final.
During Alcaraz’s absence, Sinner has won Wimbledon, as well as the clay-court Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, while Alexander Zverev claimed the French Open title.
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In an interview with Corriere della Serra, Italian tennis icon Panatta expressed his wish for Alcaraz to return as he said Sinner “is simply too strong” for everyone else.
“I am waiting for him (Alcaraz), sincerely convinced that only with the two of them paired up again — Sinner on one side, Alcaraz on the other — will tennis once again become an open contest, the duel everyone desires,” said Panatta.
“Right now, it isn’t, and it couldn’t be. By winning his second Wimbledon, Sinner has shown he is simply too strong for everyone.
“He fended off Zverev — who had meanwhile won in Paris and climbed to number two in the rankings — handing the German his tenth consecutive defeat.
“Sport — not just tennis — needs fierce rivalries to be as compelling as possible.”
The former world No 4 went on to assess Sinner’s win over Zverev in the Wimbledon final.
“Zverev faced him in the best possible way; I have to give him credit,” Panatta added.
“You can see that the victory in Paris restored the confidence that so many unexpected losses had eroded.
“Zverev is a top-class player, with rock-solid groundstrokes and a serve that inevitably makes its presence felt over the long haul.
“But Sinner is still a cut above — clearly better than the German. The match was neck-and-neck until 6-6 in the second set; from that point on, the Italian steamroller faced no further obstacles.”
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