Jannik Sinner honestly answers whether he considers Carlos Alcaraz a friend
NewsMonday, 17 November 2025 at 12:05
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz met once again in a final, which the Italian won in front of the home crowd at the 2025 ATP Finals.
It was the sixth final this year between Sinner and Alcaraz. It has now become virtually impossible for them to meet in any other match than a final, as they are the two highest-ranked players on the ATP Tour, and considering the second Sinner has more than twice the amount of points that the third Alexander Zverev has, it doesn't seem like that should be changing anytime soon.
Sinner won the final at the ATP Finals, only his second against Alcaraz this year after Wimbledon. After the match, the Italian faced plenty of questions about his success, his season, his plans for the off-season, his opponent, and his team.
But there was also one question about Alcaraz that wasn't about the Spaniard's tennis, but instead, their relationship. Alcaraz and Sinner are known to have a good relationship, but the question is whether the Italian considers his rival to be a friend.
Sinner tried to provide an elaborate answer. He mentioned that he had discussed this topic with his coach, Darren Cahill, who told him that, in his day, tennis players were closer to each other because they didn't have the big teams players have today.
"Well, I feel like we had this conversation a bit with Darren [Cahill]. He used to play back in the day. Players used to go to dinner, have dinner together because the teams were not as big. It was maybe player plus one. You tend to be a bit more together. You open yourself up. You tell stories in the locker room."
Sinner then explained that even though players don't necessarily go to dinners together anymore, there are still players in the locker room he likes more and those he doesn't talk to much.
"I still feel it's a bit like this. You have your more favorite not players but friends in the locker room. You talk a bit in different ways. Of course, I believe that Carlos has great friends and I have great friends, too."
"You tend to go a bit more in the national team because it's normal. You spend more time with Italians. I also have other players I feel very close to: Jack Draper, Reilly Opelka, these kinds of friendships. I feel they're honest, and you can get along very well."
The ATP world No. 2 player explained that he considers Jack Draper and Reilly Opelka to be his good friends, as well as his Davis Cup teammates. However, his relationship with Alcaraz is a bit different thanks to their on-court rivalry.
"But with Carlos, it is also a bit different because of on-court reasons. We have a very good relationship, rivalry, call it however. I feel like we can talk about everything still. I think it's great. We are good friends off the court."
"We respect each other in a very healthy way. Also, the teams, my team, get along very well with them. I think it's a good harmony. At the same time, there's also the work and all the rest behind, which it's all about balance."
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