Jannik Sinner ended a turbulent season in memorable fashion as he defeated rival Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to retain the ATP Finals title.
Sinner sent the Turin crowd wild as he battled past Spanish World No1 Alcaraz 7-6(4), 7-5 in the decider to the season-ending championships.
Sinner fell to the floor after breaking his rival's serve in the final game before racing to celebrate with his team as chants of 'Ole, Ole, Ole, Sinner, Sinner' rang around the Inalpi Arena.
“Finishing in front of the Italian public was a fantastic thing, maybe even better than last year, thank you very much for the support, it was incredible,” Sinner said.
“Thanks to all of you, it felt like being on a football pitch.
“It's an amazing season. This year making four Grand Slam finals, coming here, winning here, having this big streak in end of the year, it's amazing.
“But mostly I feel to be a better player than last year, I think this is the most important. It's all part of the process.”
Sinner celebrated with a mixture of joy and relief after sealing victory at the tournament where he hasn't lost a match since being beaten in the 2023 final by Novak Djokovic.
The win brought to close a year in which the 24-year-old had to bounce back from a three-month ban, which chopped out a large chunk of his season despite the World Anti-Doping Agency accepting that the Italian was accidentally contaminated with banned substance clostebol in March 2024.
“I was thinking about a lot and at the same time not a lot. There was a lot of tension because if I lost that point we go into a tie-break and then it becomes a different match,” added Sinner.
“But in that moment I was probably more relieved about the end of the season. I had a similar feeling last year but it was different.
“This year it was a more powerful feeling for a variety of reasons. It was a really emotional moment.”
The season was defined and dominated by the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz and it seemed inevitable that they would meet in the title clash.
Alcaraz forced the only break point in the first set but Sinner held firm and brought the crowd to its feet with a tiebreak win, and sealed the match when the Spaniard was unable to hold while serving to stay in the contest.
Sinner missed out on ending the year as World No1 to Alcaraz after the Spaniard won his three round-robin matches this week but the Italian won the last act of 2025 to crown the best season of his career.
The 24-year-old reached the final of all four Grand Slams, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while Alcaraz has also had a stellar year, winning Roland Garros and the US Open, beating Sinner in both finals.
Alcaraz was left to rue missed opportunities at key moments of a typically tight match between the two best players in the world, with his backhand failing him when he had chances to strike.
“Right now I have some points and some shots on my mind. For example, the backhand volley that I missed. I missed a few of the backhand volleys … which I'm really disappointed in,” said Alcaraz.
“I would say that was the key because it was a really important moment that I didn't finish the point with the backhand volley … I think that was a really important shot that I didn't do well today.”
