Alcaraz after securing the world No. 1 spot: "Jannik was winning everything at the start of the year, I thought it was impossible"

Long behind Sinner in the rankings during this season, Alcaraz recounts how he regained faith mid-season to launch a meteoric comeback.

The 2025 men's season was largely summed up by a duel between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who shared the Grand Slams and faced each other in five finals between May and September.

However, it was ultimately Alcaraz, winner of Roland-Garros, the US Open, three Masters 1000 events (Monte-Carlo, Rome, and Cincinnati) as well as three ATP 500 events (Rotterdam, Queen's, and Tokyo), who took home the grand prize by finishing the year as world No. 1.

The mano a mano between the two men continued until the ATP Finals, but Alcaraz, who won all three of his round-robin matches, ended the suspense this Thursday by beating Lorenzo Musetti (6-4, 6-1). On court during the post-match interview, the Spaniard spoke about his pride in finishing the year on the ATP rankings throne:

"It means a huge amount to me. Finishing the year as No. 1 has always been a goal. To be honest, at the start of the year, I thought the No. 1 spot was out of reach. Jannik was winning almost every tournament he played. From the middle of the season, I set myself this goal because I thought it was possible.

I was fortunate to be able to play some very good tennis in several tournaments in a row to get closer to Jannik and the No. 1 spot. In the last three or four tournaments of the season, we were neck and neck, but I ultimately got it.

For me, it means a lot. All the work we put in every day throughout the season, the highs, the lows, the comebacks... I am really proud of my team and myself."