As Carlos Alcaraz has already begun building a stellar tennis career by the age of 22, he has played in all of the biggest arenas in the world and captivated audiences by donning several avatars.
His power and ball speed enthralled crowds as a prodigal teenager. His creativity, variety and ingenuity established him as something of a tennis showman. His charisma and charm, both on and off the court, elevated his profile to become one of the most famous athletes in the world.
But in New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, in front of a packed crowd that included US President Donald Trump, a host of global celebrities, sports superstars, and tennis royalty, Alcaraz donned a new role: that of a ruthless winner.
US Open champion. World No.1. Superstar. pic.twitter.com/T4saKmvGj8
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2025
Pursuing glory with the kind of rock-jawed determination that he has displayed all tournament – a run in which his serve was broken only thrice and he did not lose a set, marking it with technical improvements and laser-eyed focus – Alcaraz produced the most impressive victory of a career that has already seen celestial highs.
He defeated Jannik Sinner, top seed, defending champion and hard court extraordinaire, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to lift the US Open for a second time and win his sixth singles Grand Slam title. The 22-year-old’s Major haul now ties that of Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, the latter of whom was in attendance to watch the Spaniard put on an absolute clinic.
Sinner, playing his fifth consecutive Major final, was beaten on a hard court at Grand Slam level for the first time in 28 matches. It was his first defeat in a completed match on this surface in 11 months. With the victory, Alcaraz also regains the World No. 1 ranking.
Carlos Alcaraz is a US Open champion once again! 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/VxwNranecl
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2025
Improved serve
This was a performance that saw an amalgamation of Alcaraz’s absolute best. The talk of this tournament was around his improved serve, which was whirring unbelievably well, and complemented his massive forehand. He found different depths and variations on his backhand too, and used the slice and deftly-timed drop shots with equal aplomb. He won 83% of the points behind his first serve, and won 52% of the points while returning Sinner’s second serve. Before the final, he had hit 71 more winners than unforced errors this tournament; that number moved up to 89 after Sunday’s clash.
The match was put through a turbulent start after a 30-minute delay, with crowds getting late entry into the stadium, given the heavy security deployment due to the presence of the American president Trump. The match started in front of several empty seats.
But Alcaraz remained undeterred. Sinner started slow, and the Spaniard made him pay, pulverising his serves and taking the initiative in the baseline exchanges to blunt the Italian in the opener, dropping only three points on his serve throughout the set.
CARLOS ALCARAZ GARFIA, ERES EL GANADOR DEL US OPEN 2025 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Q6f9O0BklR
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2025
The disparity in the performances was bound to correct itself, and it did in the second set. Sinner woke up and returned to his steady, plasmatic baseline play while Alcaraz struggled to maintain the sky-high standards. But as the scores levelled, and expectations of the match reaching a closer feel to their five-set epic at Roland Garros in June rose, the Spaniard went into lockdown mode.
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The tiny criticisms made about his wavering focus during matches, perhaps causing some unexpected defeats to unheralded players in the past, have always been a thorn in Alcaraz’s side. He believes his consistency and success should speak for themselves. At any rate, his performance in the second half of this match certainly did.
Alcaraz was consistent and powerful from the baseline, constructing points savvily and finishing them off aggressively while also throwing in the variations to keep his opponent on his toes. When he finally served out the match, needing a third championship point, it seemed like he was never truly in doubt of the result.
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, left, and Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, right, hold their trophies after Alcaraz defeated Sinner to win the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Era of SinCaraz
The Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly has now overtaken men’s tennis. They have won each of the last eight Majors over two straight seasons and ten between them in total. Anything other than a loss to each other looks like a huge upset (Sinner was indifferent all tournament but was relatively undisturbed in his path to the final, where his poor serving was finally made to pay).
Pure domination 😤 pic.twitter.com/3neC54H06E
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2025
Alcaraz does hold a decisive edge in this rivalry. He now leads their head-to-head record 10-5 and has won seven of their last eight matches. But beyond the numbers, the Spaniard’s performance on Sunday shot a warning sign to him and his competitors. He essayed an amount of control over this match, taking any upsets or comebacks out of the equation, in a way that is not reflected in the dominant stats, or in any of the performances in his six previous Major finals.
The level was spookily high throughout the tournament, under the pressure of a final or in an expectant first round. Can he maintain it? Can Sinner go up another gear himself? Answers may be found in Melbourne next January.
