Jannik Sinner concedes defeat to Carlos Alcaraz with "impossible" admission about year-end World No. 1 battle

Jannik Sinner has admitted that it's going to be "impossible" for him to finish as the year-end World No. 1 in 2025. As things stand, the Italian's rival Carlos Alcaraz is in pole position to end the year as the top-ranked men's singles tennis player in the world.

Sinner, who was dethroned by Alcaraz at the summit of men's tennis following the Spaniard's triumph against the Italian in the final of the US Open, briefly shared his thoughts on approaching the few remaining tournaments in the 2025 tennis calendar, including the year-end ATP Finals.

"For me, the end of the year is very important. I’m very lucky because the ATP Finals are in Italy and this gives me a lot of energy with my home people," the World No. 2 said following his successful title defense at this year's edition of the Six Kings Slam, a lucrative exhibition event hosted by Saudi Arabia.

Going on to deliver his verdict on potentially catching and surpassing Carlos Alcaraz to end the year as the World No. 1, Jannik Sinner voiced a rather resigned take.

"This year, it’s going to be impossible," the Italian added.

Right now, Alcaraz has 11,340 official points, while Sinner is on 10,000. In the race to the ATP Finals in Turin, the Spaniard has 11,040 live points whereas the Italian has 8,500.

Jannik Sinner's US Open 2025 final loss to Carlos Alcaraz marked end of Italian's 65-week reign as World No. 1

Jannik Sinner (left) and Carlos Alcaraz (right) during the men's singles trophy presentation ceremony at the 2025 US Open (Source: Getty)

It was in June 2024 when Jannik Sinner ascended to the top spot on the ATP Tour's singles rankings for the first time in his career. The Italian's rise stemmed from his remarkable form that began in the second half of the 2023 season and continued into the next year.

Sinner began 2024 by winning his first Major title at the Australian Open and then found further success at the ATP 500 and Masters 1000 events respectively in Rotterdam and Miami.

The Italian would go on to finish the 2024 season as the year-end World No. 1. Overall, Sinner spent 65 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings before he was made to settle for No. 2 by Carlos Alcaraz at this year's US Open. If the Spaniard does finish 2025 as the highest-ranked men's singles tennis player, it'll be the second time he will have achieved the feat.

Alcaraz finished as the year-end World No. 1 for the first time in his career back in 2022.

Edited by Sudipto Pati