“Year-end No. 1 wasn’t the goal”: Carlos Alcaraz admits Sinner looked untouchable early on

Carlos Alcaraz sealed his place at the summit of men’s tennis once again, defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6–4, 6–1 to secure the year-end World No. 1 ranking for the second time in his career. After a season shaped by momentum swings and a powerful late run, the Spaniard admitted that this milestone felt different from 2022, when he first finished on top at just 19. This time, expectations and pressure were heavier, even if the goal itself evolved slowly, ending in the reflection that “once you set a goal, it’s always great to achieve it.”

Part of what makes this finish so significant for Alcaraz is that the No. 1 ranking wasn’t initially on his radar. With Jannik Sinner dominating during 2025, the live points race at the beginning of 2025 had Alcaraz chasing from a distance — seemingly too far to imagine overtaking.

However, Sinner’s three-month suspension from the courts changed everything. Alcaraz experienced a rebirth during the clay-swing, following an uneven start to the year with a couple of undesirable results, such as the defeat in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and the first-round exit at the Miami Open.

Alcaraz recovered once he returned to clay courts, and since then has been practically unstoppable, with 55 wins and only 4 losses. By the time he reached Turin, though, he had built a string of wins over Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, and finally Musetti, enough to push his total to 11,650 points, culminating in his admission that “I think the year-end No. 1 wasn’t the goal at the beginning of the year, because I saw it really far away with Jannik on top.”

A strong run of tournaments brought him rhythm, trophies, and renewed confidence—a contrast to the uneven months that preceded it. His tennis sharpened, his results stabilized, and the goals shifted accordingly. Ending the season at No. 1 went from improbable to possible, and eventually to an urgent mission that solidified with every win this week, articulated through his own recollection that “from the middle of the season, I started to play such great tennis—a lot of tournaments in a row, getting a lot of trophies.”

Still, his final group match against Musetti carried tension. The 6-time major champion entered the court already qualified for the semifinals, but with the No. 1 ranking on the line—and with Musetti still fighting for his own spot—the pressure was shared but heavy. Alcaraz didn’t hide the nerves, describing the occasion as unusually difficult to manage even amid his confident tennis, grounding his thoughts at the end of the set with the admission that “I’m really happy that I was able to achieve that here, in this tournament, after three wins.”

As he discussed the performance itself, Alcaraz didn’t shy away from the areas he felt could be cleaner. Despite controlling baseline exchanges and closing points assertively at the net, he saw room for improvement. The weight of what was at stake followed him into every game, something he made clear when he openly acknowledged that “I think today I played with a lot of nerves—it was really difficult to handle it.”

The context only amplified the emotional load. Musetti was playing for qualification, and Alcaraz for something far bigger—the right to close the season as the best player in the world. That collision of incentives shaped the tone of the match. For Alcaraz, it meant battling not only his opponent but his own expectations, which he described directly as “a really big match for both of us: him trying to qualify for the semis, and me trying to finish the year as No. 1.”

Even in the midst of pressure, the tennis itself surfaced in moments. Alcaraz struck cleanly, attacked the net, and produced patches of brilliance that have become characteristic of his game. Still, he wanted more consistency, and his self-assessment was both honest and motivated—the kind of tone a player carries when he believes there is another gear to find. As he put it, evaluating his overall form, “I couldn’t play as relaxed as I wanted.”

Looking ahead, Alcaraz hopes the tension will loosen and the tennis will elevate further. With a semifinal awaiting him in Turin and the trophy still up for grabs, he enters the weekend with both relief and focus. “Hopefully in the semifinals I can raise my level a little bit. I’m excited to do it.”

For now, he will have to wait to find out his opponent, who will be the winner between Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime.