The ATP and WTA 1000 tournament season begins with the Indian Wells 2025 Tournament. The Californian event brings together the top stars of men’s and women’s tennis, marking the start of the tour of the United States. The men’s draw will be without top-ranked Jannik Sinner, who is serving a doping suspension. Carlos Alcaraz is emerging as the favorite to defend his title.
Jannik Sinner has been the best player on fast courts for more than a year. In 2024, he started to win Grand Slams with the Australian Open and became number 1 in the ranking;
However, from Indian Wells to Wimbledon, the figure of Carlos Alcaraz emerged as the Italian’s natural rival. Both players proved to be a step above the rest. Carlitos would be practically the only player capable of standing up to Sinner, with the exception of Medvedev at Wimbledon.
Sinner continued to develop his game and for the US Open showed his most dominant facet seen so far. The early elimination of Alcaraz was a perfect fit for the world No. 1, who only dropped one set on his way to becoming the new king of Flushing Meadows.
After dividing the 4 majors in 2 per side, Alcaraz would beat Sinner once again in a true great match at the China Open. It was their last duel so far and the last official match in which the Italian would be defeated. The duel deeply marked the number 1, who would win the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup to close a huge season showing himself more and more dominant.
By the time the 2025 Australian Open began, Sinner was under pressure to prove to everyone that what happened last season was no accident. And he took it seriously: he would only lose one set to retain his title in Melbourne (against Holger Rune in the round of 16). The Italian was superior to all his opponents and in many cases by a wide margin.