The history of tennis is often told through eras of dominance, the sport’s one-on-one essence a breeding ground for blockbuster rivalries at the very top of the singles game. The fire-and-ice contrast of John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg was a cultural phenomenon, as was the clash between Andre Agassi’s baseline brilliance and Pete Sampras’ serve-and-volley sorcery.
But no rivalry, and no period of dominance, can rival that of the Big Three—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—who developed larger-than-life personas and broke all manner of records over the past two decades. Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam tournament singles titles was widely viewed as unbreakable when he closed his career by winning the 2002 US Open. But one by one, the Big Three eclipsed that mark and climbed ever higher.
Federer’s retirement in 2022 and Nadal’s farewell last summer left just Djokovic and his quest for a record-extending 25th major championship singles crown still active. Doomsday predictions about tennis in the post-Big Three era inevitably followed, as did the sport’s collective urge to anoint a new superstar.
Carlos Alcaraz was the heir apparent after his breakout 2022 season, which included his first major title at the US Open and year-end world No. 1 honors. On consecutive days that May, he beat Nadal and Djokovic en route to the Madrid title on his native Spanish clay. By all accounts, he had the game and the personality to be the new face of the men’s game. Fair or not, Alcaraz was quickly compared to his countryman Nadal and the lefty’s fellow GOATs.
The understated Jannik Sinner began to emerge as an elite force late in the 2023 season, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto and taking two more titles in a blistering close to the year. When the Italian won his maiden major at the 2024 Australian Open—part of a 19-match winning streak and a 25-1 start to the season—suddenly his name was being mentioned alongside Alcaraz as the latest glimpse of greatness.
With the hype machine going into overdrive, these two young talents shut out the noise and continued to work—and win. Alcaraz claimed the next two majors, at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while Sinner made deep runs at both events, losing to Alcaraz in a five-set Paris semifinal and showing promise outside of his favored hard courts. Entering New York as world No. 1, Sinner completed a Grand Slam sweep for the pair with a dominant 2024 US Open title run, part of a 29-1 finish to the season on cement.
After more of the same this season—Sinner defended his AO title and won his first Wimbledon crown on either side of Alcaraz’s successful Roland Garros title defense—what was once a hot take is now a takeover. To borrow from Taylor Swift (who watched Sinner win the US Open last summer in Arthur Ashe Stadium), men’s tennis is in its Sinner-Alcaraz era.
Winners of each of the past seven Grand Slam tournaments—and eight of the past nine—these superstars have moved head and shoulders above the field while standing on the shoulders of the Big Three. Sinner, 24, has been world No. 1 since last June; Alcaraz, 22, tops the ATP’s 2025 Race To Turin (the year-end championships).
Prior to their Wimbledon final showdown—their second consecutive Grand Slam final meeting—both Sinner and Alcaraz verbally distanced themselves from comparisons to the Big Three. Surrounded and grounded by their experienced teams, they maintain perspective. If you equate their professional careers to a five-set match, both players are somewhere in the second set.
“We are still really young,” Alcaraz said, adding that they would need another five or 10 years of similar results “to be at the same table” as the Big Three.
Sinner, asked what he might label himself and his Spanish rival as a cohort, had a similar response: “No name yet, because you cannot compare what the Big Three did for 15-plus years. [Seven] Grand Slams are one and a half years. It’s not that big yet.”
Tennis media and fans beg to differ, at least on the name. Introducing … “The New Two.”
Sinner landed the latest Grand Slam blow in what is already an historic rivalry by beating Alcaraz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, at Wimbledon. It was a swift measure of revenge after the Spaniard saved three match points in an epic Roland Garros final five weeks earlier, escaping with a 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) triumph.
While Sinner would not be drawn into Big Three comparisons after his Wimbledon success, he didn’t shy away from his status as the man to beat. “We have a big target on us,” Sinner said, referring to himself and his team. He might as well have been discussing himself and Alcaraz.
At the 2025 US Open, it was Sinner and Alcaraz vs. the field—and oddsmakers have been proving correct in installing the field as a significant underdog.
Looking back, tennis historians might argue whether the Sinner-Alcaraz era truly began with the Spaniard’s title at the 2022 US Open, even if Djokovic won three of the four majors in 2023. Little did anyone know, when watching the young rivals battle through five marathon sets for a record-late 2:50 a.m. US Open finish in the 2022 US Open quarterfinals, that we were witnessing the first true epic in what is fast becoming the defining rivalry of this generation. It will be a long time until we see them compete in a quarterfinal round again.
Alcaraz won that ’22 war of attrition, the pair’s fourth tour-level meeting, and went on to claim his maiden major title. More recently, the Spaniard rattled off five straight wins over Sinner until the Wimbledon final, when Sinner snapped Alcaraz’s 24-match winning streak and denied him a three-peat at the All England Club.
Sinner’s victory, which closed the gap to 5-8 in their head-to-head at that time, was doubly significant because it came on the London lawns. The prevailing wisdom was that Alcaraz’s variety made him more dangerous on the natural surfaces of grass and clay, but Sinner was a point away from sweeping the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles.
Alcaraz can draw from a deeper arsenal to adapt his artistic game from surface to surface, major to major. His unpredictability, whether it’s a perfectly executed drop shot or a surprise net approach, keeps opponents guessing. At his best, Alcaraz is untouchable with an all-court game built around whipped baseline blasts. The dominant 10-2 fifth-set tiebreak at Roland Garros, where Alcaraz blew past Sinner to retain the title, serves as the prime example. But he is also more prone to peaks and valleys.
Conversely, Sinner’s predictability is one of his greatest assets. The 6-foot-3 baseliner is relentless from the backcourt, his ruthless efficiency a constant threat to overwhelm any opponent. He has been unbeatable on hard courts for two years, and he entered this summer’s North American swing on a 21-match winning streak on the surface, winner of 36 of his past 37 matches on cement. He now strikes the same fear into his opponents on any court.
During the Wimbledon final, after Sinner won the third set without facing a break point, an agitated Alcaraz shouted to his box in Spanish: “He’s much better than me from the baseline.”
Just as Sinner learned from his Paris defeat, Alcaraz has no doubt grown from his London loss. Like all the great tennis rivals before them, the pair push one another to new heights.
“Every time we’re playing against each other, our level is really high. We don’t watch a level like this [in other matches], if I’m honest with you,” Alcaraz said, echoing the comments of pundits around the world. “I don’t see any players playing against each other, having the level that we are playing when we face each other.
“This rivalry, it’s coming better and better. We’re building a really great rivalry because we’re playing finals of a Grand Slam, finals of Masters, the best tournaments in the world. It’s going to be better and better.”
Their most recent meeting came to an abrupt halt in the Cincinnati Open final, when Sinner was forced to retire due to illness. Now, less than a month later, they are preparing for their next major showdown in the 2025 US Open final, where both are seeking a second Queens crown.
When they enter the main stage in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Sinner will have an opportunity to draw level with Alcaraz on five Grand Slam tournament singles titles.
Rather than looking over his shoulder in the race for history, Alcaraz appreciates the extra motivation.
“I’m just really grateful for [our rivalry] because it gives me the opportunity to just give my 100 percent every practice, every day,” he said. “Just to be better, thanks to that. The level that I have to maintain and I have to raise if I want to beat Jannik is really high.”
Editor's note: This story was adapted from the men's singles preview originally featured in the 2025 US Open program, which is available in print.
