Sincaraz Nears Final Chapter of 2025

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been battling for the world number one ranking in men's tennis for the past 17 months.

sarah

Nov 8, 2025 - 14:00

Sincaraz Nears Final Chapter of 2025

Carlos Alcaraz emphasized this on Friday after practice ahead of the ATP Finals, posting a picture with Jannik Sinner on Instagram and using two emojis – a number one and a fencing emoji – to highlight the rivalry.

Whether Alcaraz or Sinner will finish the year as world number one is a key question heading into this week's season-ending event in Turin.

Finishing a long and arduous season as the tour's best player is a prestigious achievement, rewarding their talent and consistency over the past 12 months.

Sinner retaining the title would be even more remarkable, given that the 24-year-old Italian was sidelined for three months after failing two doping tests.

Spain's Alcaraz finally overtook his rival in the rankings in September, ending Sinner's 65-week reign by winning the final Grand Slam of 2025 in New York.

Now the two are set for a direct showdown in the season's final tournament, where the 22-year-old Alcaraz appears to be the favorite to win the title.

"If Carlos plays really well, there's no chance, whatever my result is," Sinner said.

What each player needs to do to finish at number one?

For the second consecutive season, the 'Sincaraz' rivalry has been the compelling storyline of the ATP Tour.

It seems fitting, therefore, that the battle for supremacy between this pair in 2025 – like all compelling stories – will have a thrilling final chapter.

Alcaraz currently sits atop the rankings heading into Turin, holding a 1,050-point lead over Sinner.

Here's what each player needs to do over the next eight days to finish the year at number one:

Sinner needs to defend his title to have any chance of overtaking Alcaraz.

For Sinner, it's essential that Alcaraz loses a group match and doesn't reach the final. Alcaraz will secure the year-end No. 1 ranking by reaching the final.

Alcaraz can guarantee this position by winning all three group matches.

Winning the title undefeated in the round-robin matches earns 1,500 ranking points.

Players earn 200 points for each round-robin match win, 400 points for winning the semi-final, and 500 points for winning the title.

Alcaraz, who previously achieved this distinction in 2022, said, "Being No. 1 at the end of the year has been a major goal for me since the middle of the year."