The tennis rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner emerged in the early 2020s. Colloquially referred to by the media and fans as "Sincaraz", a portmanteau of their names, the pair have faced each other 17 times since 2021, with Alcaraz leading the rivalry 10–7, including 4–2 at the grand slams and 5–4 in finals. Alcaraz leads their five-set encounters 3–0.
Alcaraz and Sinner are the two most successful men's tennis players born in the 21st century. Both have won multiple major titles—Alcaraz seven and Sinner five—and both have held the world No. 1 ranking. Some commentators have dubbed them the "New Two" or the "Big Two", in reference to the Big Three. Between them, they have won twelve of the last seventeen major titles dating back to the 2022 US Open.
The rivalry has been described as "potentially era-defining". They have played multiple matches regarded as classics, including their 2022 US Open quarterfinal and the 2025 French Open final.
History Before playing an ATP Tour-level match, Alcaraz and Sinner played a Challenger match at the JC Ferrero Open in 2019, won by Alcaraz as a 15-year-old in his first match at that level. However, Challenger-level matches are generally not counted towards head-to-head tallies.
2021
Alcaraz and Sinner met for the first time at the ATP Tour level at the 2021 Paris Masters, where an 18-year-old Alcaraz, ranked world No. 35, upset a 20-year-old Sinner in straight sets. This match significantly bumped Sinner out of the qualifying positions for the ATP Finals, where he had been hoping to make his first appearance as a seed.
2022 Alcaraz and Sinner met three times in 2022, with Sinner winning two matches and Alcaraz one.
They met for the first time in the fourth round of Wimbledon, where Sinner defeated Alcaraz in four sets.
The pair met again later that month in their first final in Umag, where Alcaraz was the defending champion. Alcaraz took the first set before being breadsticked twice by Sinner in the second and third sets. This was Sinner's first title on clay courts.
Their third meeting in 2022 was in the quarterfinals of the US Open. Alcaraz took the first set before losing the second and third sets in two tiebreaks. He then saved a match point in the fourth set, before recovering to win in five. The match lasted five hours and 15 minutes, and recorded what was then the latest finish in the history of the tournament at 2:50AM. It is widely considered one of the best matches of their rivalry to date. Alcaraz went on to win the tournament, claiming his first major title and becoming the youngest men's world No. 1 in the Open Era.
2023 Alcaraz and Sinner met three times in 2023, with Sinner winning two matches and Alcaraz one.
Their first encounter was a semifinal at Indian Wells, which Alcaraz claimed in straight sets en route to the title. Two weeks later they met again at the same stage in Miami, where Sinner defeated defending champion Alcaraz in three sets, dashing his hopes of achieving the Sunshine Double.
They met for a final time in 2023 in the semifinals of Beijing, where Sinner defeated Alcaraz in straight sets for the first time en route to the title, pulling ahead in the rivalry at 4–3.
2024 Alcaraz and Sinner met three times in 2024. All three matches were won by Alcaraz.
Their first encounter was a rematch at Indian Wells. Defending champion Alcaraz was breadsticked by Sinner in the first set, before recovering to win the match in three sets en route to retaining his title. He snapped Sinner's 19-match win streak and levelled their rivalry at 4–4.
They next met in June for a semifinal encounter at the French Open. Both players had experienced injuries earlier in the clay season and struggled physically throughout a gruelling five-set encounter. Despite the length of the match, it is not generally considered to be one of their higher quality encounters. Alcaraz won the match, drawing ahead in the rivalry at 5–4, and went on to win the title. Following the tournament, Sinner became world No. 1 for the first time.
Their last meeting in 2024 was the final of China Open, where Sinner was the defending champion. The match went to a dramatic deciding-set tiebreak, in which Sinner initially took a 3–0 lead before Alcaraz won seven consecutive points to clinch the title. At three hours and 21 minutes, it was the longest match in the history of the tournament. Alcaraz snapped Sinner's 15-match win streak and returned to No. 2 in the world rankings.
2025 Alcaraz and Sinner met six times in 2025 (all finals), with Alcaraz winning four matches and Sinner two.
In May, they contested their first Masters final against each other at the Italian Open. Alcaraz clinched a nervy first set which ended in a tiebreak, and went on to dominate Sinner in the second set. This was Sinner's first loss in straight sets since 2023, and snapped his 26-match win streak, which had been ongoing since his last loss to Alcaraz.
Less than a month later, they met for their first major final at the French Open, where Alcaraz was defending champion. Sinner established a two-set lead, but Alcaraz took the third set. In the fourth set, Sinner held three championship points on Alcaraz's serve at 5–3. Alcaraz held from 0–40 and then broke Sinner's serve to force a tiebreak and win the set. The match therefore progressed to a fifth set, which Alcaraz eventually claimed in a dominant super tiebreak. This was Alcaraz's fifth consecutive win over Sinner, and Sinner's first loss in a major final. At five hours and 29 minutes, it was the longest-ever French Open final. It was also the first major final to be contested by two men born in the 21st century. The Guardian acclaimed it as "one of the greatest finals ever played, in any sport."
Five weeks later, they met for a rematch in the Wimbledon final. Sinner defeated two-time defending champion Alcaraz in four sets, dropping the first, to win his first Wimbledon title. Sinner's victory over Alcaraz ended several streaks: Sinner's five-match losing streak against Alcaraz, Alcaraz's winning streaks at Wimbledon, and Alcaraz's overall 24-match winning streak. It was also Alcaraz's first loss in a major final, and prevented him from becoming the first man to defend the Channel Slam since Björn Borg.
Both players withdrew from the Canadian Open and returned to competition at the Cincinnati Open, where they met again in the final. This was a truncated affair, as Sinner retired due to illness with Alcaraz leading 5–0 in the first set. They then met for a third consecutive major final at the US Open, as the first pair of men to contest three major finals in the same calendar year. Alcaraz defeated defending champion Sinner in four sets, dropping the second. He ended Sinner's winning streak at the hardcourt majors, and reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in two years. Alcaraz and Sinner therefore split the majors at two-apiece for the second consecutive year.
At the 2025 ATP Finals, Sinner and Alcaraz both won all three of their round-robin matches to progress to the semifinals, where they both dispatched their opponents in straight sets. In the final, Sinner defeated Alcaraz in straight sets to defend his title. At the completion of the 2025 season, the two players were perfectly tied at 1,651 points won in matches between them.
2026 At the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters, Sinner and Alcaraz faced each other in the final. This match was a contest for the world No. 1 singles ranking. In the final, Sinner defeated Alcaraz in straight sets to regain the world No. 1 singles ranking. At the 2026 French Open, Alcaraz did not play due to injury and Sinner lost in an upset in the second round. This ended the pair's streak of nine straight Grand Slam titles which began in 2024.
Head-to-head matches +Record by tierLegendAlcarazSinnerGrand Slam42ATP Finals01ATP 100052ATP 50011ATP 25001Total107+Record by surfaceSurfaceAlcarazSinnerHard73Grass02Clay32Total107
Singles (17) Alcaraz 10 – Sinner 7 No.YearTournamentTierSurfaceRoundWinnerScoreLengthSetsAlcarazSinner12021Paris MastersATP 1000Hard (i)Round of 32Alcaraz2:082/31022022Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrand SlamGrassRound of 16Sinner3:354/51132022Croatia OpenATP 250ClayFinalSinner2:263/31242022US OpenGrand SlamHardQuarterfinalsAlcaraz5:155/52252023Indian Wells OpenATP 1000HardSemifinalsAlcaraz1:522/33262023Miami OpenATP 1000HardSemifinalsSinner3:023/33372023China OpenATP 500HardSemifinalsSinner1:552/33482024Indian Wells OpenATP 1000HardSemifinalsAlcaraz2:053/34492024French OpenGrand SlamClaySemifinalsAlcaraz4:095/554102024China OpenATP 500HardFinalAlcaraz3:213/364112025Italian OpenATP 1000ClayFinalAlcaraz1:432/374122025French OpenGrand SlamClayFinalAlcaraz5:295/584132025Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrand SlamGrassFinalSinner3:044/585142025Cincinnati OpenATP 1000HardFinalAlcaraz0:231/395152025US OpenGrand SlamHardFinalAlcaraz2:424/5105162025ATP FinalsTour FinalsHard (i)FinalSinner2:152/3106172026Monte-Carlo MastersATP 1000ClayFinalSinner2:152/3107
Statistical comparison
Big titles Category Alcaraz SinnerGrand Slam 7 5ATP Finals 0 2Masters 1000 8 10Total 15 17
ATP year-end ranking timeline Player 201820192020202120222023202420252026 Carlos Alcaraz1491492141321231 Jannik Sinner 55178371015412
Singles rankings achievements
Rankings Alcaraz SinnerWeeks as ATP No. 1 66 92ATP Year-end No. 1 2 1World Tennis Champions 0 2
Performance timeline comparison (Grand Slam tournaments)
Bold = players met during this tournament
2019–2024
Player201920202021202220232024AUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSA Carlos AlcarazAAAAAANHA2R3R2RQF3RQF4RWASFWSFQFWW2R Jannik SinnerAAQ11R2RQFNH1R1R4R1R4RQF4RQFQF4R2RSF4RWSFQFW
2025–present
Player202520262027AUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSA Carlos AlcarazQFWFWWAAQF Jannik SinnerWFWFSF2RWA
Combined singles performance timeline (best result)
Tournament20192020202120222023202420252026SRGrand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenA2RS2RAQFS4RSWSWSWA3 / 7French OpenAQFS4RSQFASFAWAWA2RS2 / 6WimbledonQ1SNH2RAQFSWAWAWSWS4 / 7US Open1RS1RSQFAWASFAWSWAQFA3 / 8
Alcaraz–Sinner Big Titles performances (2022–present) Year Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open Indian Wells Masters Miami Open Monte Carlo Masters Madrid Open Italian Open Canadian Open Cincinnati Masters Shanghai Masters Paris Masters ATP Finals Olympic Games2022 Nadal Nadal Djokovic Alcaraz Fritz Alcaraz Tsitsipas Alcaraz Djokovic Carreño Busta ĆorićNH Rune DjokovicNH2023 Djokovic Djokovic Alcaraz Djokovic AlcarazMedvedevRublev AlcarazMedvedev Sinner Djokovic Hurkacz Djokovic DjokovicNH2024 Sinner Alcaraz Alcaraz Sinner Alcaraz Sinner TsitsipasRublev Zverev Popyrin Sinner Sinner Zverev Sinner Djokovic2025 Sinner Alcaraz Sinner Alcaraz Draper Menšík Alcaraz Ruud Alcaraz Shelton Alcaraz Vacherot Sinner SinnerNH2026 Alcaraz Zverev Sinner Zverev Sinner Sinner Sinner Sinner Sinner Shelton FilsNH
Significant achievements Longest French Open final ever played (2025 French Open) at 5 hours and 29 minutes. First major final contested between two men born in the 21st century (i.e. after the year 2000). First pair of men's singles players in the Open Era to contest three major finals in the same year. First pair of men's singles players in the Open Era to win a combined 50 Grand Slam matches in a year (2025).
Exhibitions
Sinner 2 — Alcaraz 1 No.YearTournamentSurfaceRoundWinnerScoreLength12024 6 Kings SlamHard (i)FinalSinner6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–32:1822025 6 Kings SlamHard (i)FinalSinner6–2, 6–41:1132026 Hyundai Card Super MatchHard (i)—Alcaraz7–5, 7–6(8–6)1:48
See also List of tennis rivalries
References
External links ATP Head-to-head: Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz at ATP Tour