Happy Birthday, Jannik Sinner! See the Best Photos from His ‘Sincaraz’ Rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have defined the last few years of men’s tennis.

Within five years, the two multi-Grand Slam champions have faced each other 17 times, with their head-to-head going 10 to 7 in favor of Alcaraz. Both players have cited each other as motivation for improving their own games, and it shows in their results: The pair have evenly split their last six meetings, which were all finals.Alcaraz even joked to Sinner in his 2025 US Open winner speech, “I see you more than my own family.”

Tennis enthusiasts have coined their professional rivalry “Sincaraz,” a portmanteau of their surnames, and a successor to the decades-long competition between the “Big Three” (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic).

As Sinner celebrates his 25th birthday on Aug. 16, 2026, see the best moments from Sincaraz’s heated rivalry.

01 of 10

Explosive Movement

They contended their first tour-level final at the Croatia Open in 2022, where Sinner won in three sets. At the trophy ceremony, the two enjoyed the fireworks show to close out the tournament.

02 of 10

Early Days and Nights

Just over a month later, Sinner and Alcaraz played their first of many Grand Slam thrillers, with Alcaraz saving match points to defeat Sinner in five sets. The match ended at 2:50 a.m., setting the record for the tournament’s latest finish.

03 of 10

Hop, Skip

Alcaraz and Sinner channeled Nadal in their match warm-up before their semifinal match at the 2024 French Open.

04 of 10

Touch Up

At the Six Kings Slam exhibition, the No. 1 and 2 seeds met in the final, and a victorious Sinner helped pick confetti out of his opponent’s hair.

05 of 10

All-Time Greats

The modern legends took on each other in the 2025 French Open final, a five-set nail-biter in which Alcaraz overcame three match points during the fourth set. An instant classic, the match lasted a record five-and-a-half hours, the longest final in Roland-Garros history.

06 of 10

Practice Pals

Although they are fierce competitors on the court, tennis fans have fallen in love with their “bromance” and camaraderie.

07 of 10

Serve Up a Selfie

They snapped a rare selfie after crossing paths during practice for the 2025 ATP Finals, which they shared on Instagram as a joint post.

08 of 10

Final of Finals

Sinner and Alcaraz met in that same tournament and embraced after the Italian player won in straight sets.

09 of 10

Heart and Seoul

At the beginning of the 2026 season, the duo participated in an exhibition match in Seoul, South Korea, and they were all smiles for the press conference.

10 of 10

Ready for Play

Their most recent match-up happened at the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters, right before Alcaraz withdrew from a majority of the season with a wrist injury.

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