Jannik Sinner Reflects on Carlos Alcaraz Loss at US Open

Ahead of Jannik Sinner’s second-round match against Marin Cilic at the China Open tomorrow, the former world No. 1 spoke openly about his loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open several weeks back.

Sinner entered the 2025 US Open eager to go back-to-back as tournament champion; however, in the final, he came up short against an in-form Carlos Alcaraz.

Following the loss, Sinner spoke candidly about what he needs to do to improve, revealing that he needs to become less predictable during matches, even if it means taking some losses along the way.

Ahead of his opening match in Beijing, Sinner echoed a similar sentiment while speaking with the Beijing Press:

“We’ve been reflecting a lot to that final. We are working on new things. We are changing a lot of small things where I’m thinking of now. The amount of mistakes at the moment is for sure a little bit higher, but I hope that this after recovers in a very positive way.

“It’s just a question of time. Let’s see how long I take it. I don’t know how much I’m able to do it on actual match court because one thing is practice and one thing is match.”

Sinner Reflects on Suspension

As the former world No. 1 noted while speaking to members of the press, he missed three months of action as a result of a failed drug test last season.

While he was able to remain atop the ATP’s rankings thanks to his Wimbledon win, after withdrawing from the final of the Cincinnati Open, and coming up short against Alcaraz in the US Open final, Sinner is now down to No. 2 in the world.

As he explained, despite how well the Italian star has played this season, the fact of the matter remains that after winning the Australian Open, he lost a considerable amount of momentum thanks to his suspension:

“Well, you know, the situation of what I’ve been through throughout this year has not been easy, starting with great run in Australia obviously. Afterward whatever happened happened. I didn’t play a big amount of tournaments, too, I have to say. This is only my eighth tournament of the year, which is not much. We are heading already in the end of the year.”

Although Sinner has played only a handful of tournaments this year, he’s currently sitting at the No. 2 spot in the ATP’s Race to Turin.

Looking at Jannik Sinner’s upcoming schedule

Fortunately for Jannik Sinner, he’ll have time to refine the adjustments he and his team have introduced to his game before the ATP finals.

Following the China Open in Beijing, Sinner will head to Shanghai for the Rolex Shanghai Masters early next month.

From there, he will either participate in one of the ATP 500 tournaments set to take place in late October either in Vienna or Basel, before wrapping up the month with the Rolex Paris Masters.

From there, Sinner will enjoy two weeks off before the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, set to start on Nov. 9.

Evan Bell Evan Bell is a sports journalist covering MMA and Tennis for Heavy.com. He has been covering the UFC since 2011, with bylines dating back to before the UFC implemented its own rankings in 2013. More about Evan Bell