Tennis
U.S. Open
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Defending champion Jannik Sinner (1) plays arch rival Carlos Alcaraz (2) in today’s U.S. Open men’s singles final.
This will be an unprecedented third successive major final between the pair — with Alcaraz triumphant at the French Open in June and Sinner getting his revenge at Wimbledon a month later.
President Donald Trump is expected to be at today’s final — and US Open organizers have asked broadcasters not to highlight any negative reactions to his attendance.
Reaching the final four is familiar territory for Carlos Alcaraz these days, and he has done it here in New York City without dropping a set.
Here is how he progressed to this point:
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Jannik Sinner will take some beating at this year's U.S. Open having dropped just one set so far — here is how he reached the semifinal:
The conversations between coaches and player before they play in a slam final. What are they talking about?
Fascinating to see these intimate moments between Jannik Sinner and his team earlier as he tries to add another slam to his growing list of accomplishments.
As for Jannik Sinner, the memory of holding the men’s singles trophy here is a little fresher.
It was just one year ago that Sinner won at Flushing, although he has held plenty of silverware since then.
It has been a few years — three to be exact — since Carlos Alcaraz last got his hands on the U.S. Open trophy.
He has changed a fair bit in that time, although his close cropped haircut has come back around again after an accident with the trimmers coming into this year’s tournament!
The U.S. Open men’s singles trophy. This is what Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are playing for today.
For the U.S. Open title. For the No. 1 ranking. To be etched into the annals of tennis history.
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The one man standing in the way of Jannik Sinner repeating as U.S. Open champion is Carlos Alcaraz. The 22-year-old Spaniard remains a threat on the hard courts, having won the U.S. Open in 2022. During that tournament, Alcaraz outlasted Sinner in the quarterfinal, a five-set thriller that ended past 2 a.m. ET in the morning.
The power and exquisite movement make Alcaraz a contender today. The key for him will be maintaining that consistency. He has shown an affinity for lulls during his matches, when the intensity isn’t there and his shots are inconsistent, leading to unforced errors.
It happened this year at the Australian Open, where he lost in four sets to a much older Novak Djokovic, a match Alcaraz was favored to win. Since then, Alcaraz beat Sinner at the French Open, saving several championship points to win an all-time classic that lasted five hours, 29 minutes. Alcaraz made his third consecutive Wimbledon final before losing to Sinner in four sets.
Should Alcaraz win, it would be his second U.S. Open title. He would move two ahead of Sinner with six career slam titles.
From left to right: Shaggy, Sting, Rosalia and Vera Wang.
This quote from Billie Jean King, tennis legend and who this complex is named after, is what players see before they step out on court at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Pressure is a privilege!” it reads.
How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner deal with pressure in the match will ultimately tell the tale of who raises the trophy this afternoon.
Who do you think will come out on top today — Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz?
Don’t forget that you can get in touch with us throughout today’s final by emailing live@theathletic.com. We’ve absolutely loved hearing from you all throughout the tournament.
Concerningly for Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday that this is the best he has felt all year.
And that’s saying something, seeing as the Spaniard won the French Open this year in the middle of a stunning 24-match win streak.
💬 “It's great,” said Alcaraz. “It's something that I'm working on, just the consistency in the matches, in the tournaments, in the year in general.
“Just the level that I start the match, I just wanted to keep that level really high during the whole match. So I think I'm doing that in this tournament, which I'm really proud about.
“Probably I'm just getting mature. I'm just getting to know myself much better, what I need on and off the court. The things that I'm doing off the court I think I'm doing really, really well, which helps a lot.
“Probably this is the best level or the best feeling that I have so far in a tennis tournament or in a year. So I will try to continue like that.”
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Jannik Sinner remains inevitable. After losing the French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, an all-time classic that lasted five hours, 29 minutes, everything has gone Sinner’s way. He has solidified his position at world No. 1 and isn’t ready to relinquish it to any challengers.
Sinner avenged his French Open defeat with a Wimbledon title, beating Alcaraz in four sets. He continues his dominance on the hard courts, though at the Cincinnati Open he was forced to retire from the final against Alcaraz at 5-0 down due to illness.
He enters the U.S. Open final looking to be the first since Roger Federer to defend his title. Not since Federer has a male player repeated as Australian Open and U.S. Open champions in consecutive years. With a win today, Sinner would have three slam titles in 2025 and tie Alcaraz with five in his career.
No pressure? Not for this Italian!
You would forgive Jannik Sinner for not particularly wanting to face Carlos Alcaraz today. The Spaniard has won 9 of their 14 meetings — including this year’s epic French Open final, in which Sinner failed to capitalize on three championship points.
But, speaking earlier this week, Sinner admitted today’s final was what the fans want to see and ultimately good for the sport.
💬 Sinner said: “I love these challenges and I love to put myself in these positions. He’s someone who pushed me to the limit, which is great, because then you have the best feedback you can have as a player.
“We have faced each other quite a lot now lately, so things are getting a little bit different. Always when we step on court, we are aware of maybe more things, because him or me, we try to prepare the match tactically and in different ways.
“Sometimes it's also nice to not play against him. But it's great for the sport having rivalries, having hopefully great matches in front of us.”
It’s Carlos Alcaraz’s turn to practice on Arthur Ashe Stadium before the final. Here he is listening to coach Juan Carlos Ferraro, who is asking him to bend lower when hitting his backhand.
Alcaraz is looking for his second U.S. Open title and sixth career slam.
The scene outside Arthur Ashe Stadium with heightened security measures due to President Donald Trump’s appearance during the U.S. Open men’s singles final today.
Quite the intersection of sports fans at Penn Station this morning. Of course, there’s a smattering of U.S. Open fans heading to Billie Jean King National Tennis Center early, knowing that with President Donald Trump attending there will be extra security.
But there are also Jets, Yankees and even a good amount of Steelers fans, too. The NFL fans are hitting New Jersey Transit to go westward to MetLife Stadium, while the Yankees fans are headed north to the Bronx to watch a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Honestly, it could be fun to play sports roulette, picking one of the three spots at random, then all aboard. Which event would you choose?
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The United States Tennis Association asked broadcasters of the U.S. Open to censor any protests or reaction to President Donald Trump’s appearance at the men’s singles final, according to a memo reviewed by The Athletic yesterday.
According to the memo, which was first reported by the tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg of Bounces, Trump will be shown on feeds from the tournament during the pre-match ceremony, which includes the presentation of the U.S. national anthem, ahead of the final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
“We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity,” the USTA said in the memo. The memo said Trump planned to watch the match from a suite as a guest of a sponsor, prompting additional security for the event.
“We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” USTA spokesman Brendan McIntyre told The Athletic. ESPN declined official comment.
Read more below.
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USTA asks broadcasters to censor reaction to Donald Trump’s attendance at U.S. Open
As for the men, two of the past three winners feature in today’s final.
Here is how that roll call from the past 10 years looks …
Jannik Sinner had a practice on Ashe before the men’s singles final earlier on today.
With a win today, Sinner will have three slams in 2025 and would’ve been one point away from a calendar slam. He will tie Carlos Alcaraz with five career slam titles.