Sinner: ‘I’m a better player than last year’
Here’s a scary thought for Jannik Sinner’s opponents heading into next season…
The Italian claims that he is a better player at the end of 2025 than he was at the end of 2024, when he earned ATP Year-End No. 1 honours presented by PIF.
Sinner was the undefeated champion at the Nitto ATP Finals the past year, but after defeating current No. 1 and great rival Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(4), 7-5 in Sunday’s title match in Turin, Sinner says that he has taken his game to a new level.
“Honestly, I don’t want to compare [years]. It’s an amazing season,” Sinner said. “Last year has been an amazing season. This year making four Grand Slam finals, coming here, winning here, having this big streak in end of the year, it’s amazing.
“But mostly I feel I am a better player than last year, I think this is the most important. It’s all part of the process. I always say and believe that if you keep working and trying to be a better player, the results, they’re going to come. This year it was like this.
“Many, many wins, and not many losses. All the losses I had, I tried to see the positive thing and trying to evolve me as a player. I feel like or I felt like this happened in a very good way. I’m extremely happy with the season.”
Despite missing three months of the season after winning the Australian Open in January, Sinner claimed six titles and earned a 58-6 match record according to Infosys ATP Stats. He has 24 career titles, the same number as Alcaraz.
The 24-year-old capped his impressive year with a second consecutive Nitto ATP Finals title without dropping a set, and by extending his unbeaten indoor record to 31 matches.
“Amazing feelings finishing the season here in Turin in front of the home crowd. It’s the last match of the season. It’s an amazing feeling. Very emotional seeing my team there, the whole box. I’m really, really happy,” he said.
Sinner won just two of six meetings with Alcaraz in 2025, with his victory in Turin narrowing the deficit in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 6-10. Asked if he could have a deep friendship with his greatest rival, Sinner had this to say…
“I feel like we had this conversation a bit with Darren,” Sinner said. “He used to play back in the day. Players, they used to go dinner, having 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 up yourself. You tell stories in the locker room.
“I still feel it’s a bit like this. You have your more favourite 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 do have also other players I feel very close to: Jack Draper, Reilly Opelka, these kind of friendships. I feel they’re honest and you can get along very well.
“But with Carlos is also a bit different because of on-court reasons. We have a very good relationship, rivalry. I feel like we can talk about everything still. I think it’s great. We are good friends off the court. We do respect us in a very healthy way. Also the teams, my team, get along very well with them. I think it’s a good harmony.”
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