As Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz gear up for another intense season, fans might have seen the two players practicing together this month. But Sinner opted to turn down training with Alcaraz in Alicante and is heading to Dubai instead, according to Marca.
It is possible that the Italian might be aiming to replicate the conditions in Australia and practice with his own team this year. Sinner will travel to Melbourne from Dubai directly around New Year’s time once his preparations are complete.
In December 2023, Sinner and Alcaraz went viral with pictures of them training together at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy. The World No.1 was invited by the 4-time Grand Slam winner in a rare occurrence of rivals spending time with each other in practice.
It is safe to say that the few days they spent training in Alicante improved their bond to a certain extent. But did it also aid Alcaraz in figuring out the Sinner puzzle? That would be a huge assumption, even though it can’t be ruled out.
Alcaraz and Sinner played against each other thrice during the 2024 season, with the Spaniard emerging victorious in all three.
That said, Sinner outsmarted Alcaraz to win the biggest prize money in tennis history, i.e. $6 million. It was in their most recent clash, i.e the final of the 6 Kings Slam in October. The result is not included in their head-to-head, though, since it was an exhibition tournament in Riyadh.
It would be interesting to see if Sinner adopts a stealth mode in another Middle Eastern city to come up with different strategies for the 2025 season, especially to tackle the Alcaraz threat.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, has his own plans to train with different ATP stars during the offseason.
Alcaraz to train with Draper and Cobolli in Alicante
Jack Draper is the British No.1 men’s player currently, who made it to the US Open 2024 semifinals. It is notable that Draper pulled off an upset of sorts against Alcaraz at Queen’s this year in the Round of 16, ending the Spaniard’s 8-match winning streak on grass. So Alcaraz knows what he is capable of.
Meanwhile, Flavio Cobolli is Italy’s sole brand ambassador for On, the sneaker brand in which Roger Federer is a shareholder. Many believe Cobolli has a bright future ahead of him. So seeing Alcaraz up front and discussing strategies with him would be a huge boost to his career.
Though Sinner and Alcaraz have taken different paths to prepare for the upcoming season, they are widely expected to rule the tennis world again in 2025. A glimpse of it might very well be seen during the Australian summer.
