"This is so disrespectful & lame" - Fans disappointed after Spike Lee gets criticized for supporting Carlos Alcaraz & not Jannik Sinner

Fans backed Spike Lee as he addressed the criticism he received for openly supporting Carlos Alcaraz over Jannik Sinner at the 2025 US Open. Lee recently reasoned that he has nothing but love for Sinner and expressed his wish to meet the Italian one day.

Spike Lee, a prominent filmmaker, has always been a sports fan, often attending sporting events and cheering on players from the sidelines. He was at the US Open finals this year, watching Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz battle it out for the victory. When the Spaniard emerged victorious, Lee was seen showing his love and support for him.

The act caught the attention of Sinner fans, who then criticised the filmmaker for his preference. Recently, he addressed the backlash at the Torino Film Festival, saying that he meant no harm to the World No. 2 and had merely expressed his wish to meet him.

"He is a great, great, great tennis player. And... because some people have saw my enthusiasm for Carlos, they felt that I was being disrespectful. So, no, that is not the case at all... was getting text messages, all type of stuff in Italy. Like I was... I'm not going to use the word. But that's not true at all. And I hope to meet Sinner one day in person, shake his hand, and let him know I have nothing but love for him."

Fans sided with him, saying that everyone has the liberty to support their preferred players and not be forced into liking someone.

One fan called it 'disrespectful' that Lee had to face shade for supporting a player.

"This is so disrespectful and lame. People are free to support whoever they want."

Another fan echoed the sentiments and wrote:

"Lmao, they can't forced anyone to like their tennis player...that's inappropriate question for a people who have right to like or not a certain player."

Another fan felt it was disappointing to see Lee justifying his support for Carlos Alcaraz.

"god forbid someone has a favourite, it’s honestly sad he had to justify it"

Here are some other reactions:

"can't even have a favorite between two players lmfao this is insane," a fan commented. "People act like it’s a crime to support one player more as if it’s not a normal thing to do. I don’t have anything against jannik, i just prefer carlos and it’s as simple as that," a fan wrote.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner faced-off at the WTA Finals

Alcaraz and Sinner at the Six Kings Slam 2025 - Day Three - Source: Getty

Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed the No. 1 rank after his win over Lorenzo Musetti in Turin. He then vied for the year-end title but fell to Sinner. The first set was close and decided by a tie break, followed by the second set encompassing a break of serve.

Sinner took the title for the second time in a row but lost the top rank to the Spaniard. The two also met in the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open finals.

Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder