Carlos Alcaraz received his year-end no. 1 trophy ahead of Jannik Sinner's match against Ben Shelton on Friday in Turin. World no. 1 lifted a beautiful trophy for the second time in his young career, joining the ultimate legends on multiple year-end no. 1 honors.
Carlos looked thrilled and proud after embracing one of two titles he is chasing in Turin this week. He was in a good position to secure the first one, but he will likely have to beat Jannik Sinner to grab another and become the first-time ATP Finals winner.
Alcaraz entered the year-end tournament with a 1050-point lead over Sinner. The Spaniard passed all three challenges in the round-robin stage and kept his great rival behind.
The 22-year-old is 70-8 in 2025, leading the field in the number of wins and titles. He provided two Majors, three Masters 1000 tournaments and three ATP 500 shields for a stellar run, his career-best.
Carlos claimed one ATP title in the opening three months and failed to reach the final at the Australian Open, Indian Wells or Miami. However, he turned the tables since Monte Carlo in April.
The El Palmarnotched nine straight finals between Monte Carlo and Tokyo, lifting seven trophies and earning his year-end no. 1 honor during that brilliant streak.
Alcaraz conquered Monte Carlo, Rome, Roland Garros, Queen's, Cincinnati, the US Open and Tokyo. His only defeats during that swing came in Barcelona and Wimbledon to Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner.
Carlos and Jannik won the ATP 500 titles in Beijing and Tokyo in the same week. However, the Italian experienced an early setback in Shanghai after feeling physical issues.
After that, he had only slim chances of catching his greatest rival by the end of the season, although he refused to surrender. The indoor giant claimed trophies in Vienna and Paris, entering the ATP Finals with a 10-50-point deficit.
Alcaraz was still in a good position to defend the lead, and he did that marvelously in Turin, in his least favorite conditions. The Spaniard ousted Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti to add 600 ATP points to his tally and emerge as a well-deserved year-end champion.
Carlos will face Alexander Zverev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-final in Turin, seeking his first final at this event.
