Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner arrive at September with heavy workloads behind them and differing short-term plans. Across a month of high-stakes finals in North America, the pair reached back-to-back title matches and logged 13 matches each, although the Cincinnati final was cut short.

After meeting in the Wimbledon final, where Sinner emerged victorious, both skipped the Canadian Open and then reunited in Cincinnati. Alcaraz lifted the trophy after his rival retired while trailing 0-5 due to illness. They were the last two standing again at the US Open, with Alcaraz going on to win the title.

Alcaraz was due to play for Spain in the Davis Cup Qualifiers second-round rubber against Denmark in Marbella but has withdrawn, the federation citing fatigue. With Italy already through to the Davis Cup Final 8 play-offs in Bologna, Sinner will not be in action for his nation this round either.

Six-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz will return to competition at the Laver Cup, representing Team Europe in San Francisco alongside Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Jakub Mensik and Flavio Cobolli. It will be his second appearance at the annual team event after debuting in 2024. Sinner has again opted not to take part.

The two will head to the Asia swing on different paths. Sinner is entered at the China Open while Alcaraz will make his debut at the Japan Open; both tournaments run from September 24-30. They both played in Beijing last year and reached the final there, with Alcaraz prevailing in a three-set match.

The next event likely to put them in the same draw is the Shanghai Masters, which begins October 1. Sinner enters as the defending champion after beating Novak Djokovic in the final 12 months ago; Alcaraz lost in the Shanghai quarter-final to Tomas Machac.

Their programmes for the late regular season remain flexible. They did not play at the Vienna Open or Swiss Indoors in 2024 before Alcaraz returned at the Paris Masters and lost in the third round. Sinner was initially on the Paris entry list but withdrew due to illness. Both have already secured places at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, provided they are fit and healthy.

Jannik Sinner conceded a central weakness after his US Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, admitting elements of his game are predictable and will require change. The admission echoed advice Novak Djokovic offered earlier through Darren Cahill after their Wimbledon meeting, a conversation Cahill described in detail on the Served podcast.

“One of the players that I tapped on the shoulder — he (Sinner) lost to Novak a couple of years ago at Wimbledon in five sets. Won the first two sets, Novak came back and ran away with it,” explained the Australian, in an appearance on the Served podcast.

“Novak got used to his ball, got used to the shape, got used to the pace and then just locked in, like Novak does, and doesn’t miss. And won the last three sets reasonably easily.

“And I saw Novak, and he’s always great with this, he’s always been incredible when you tap him on the shoulder. And I said, ‘Hey listen, I’ve just started with Jannik, don’t tell me anything you don’t want to tell me, but can I ask what you were feeling out there?’ And he was incredible.

“He basically said, ‘Hey listen. Good luck with working with him. Hits the ball great, but there’s no variation. So you know, there’s no shape on his shot. There’s no height over the net. Doesn’t come to the net. He’s not trying to bring me in, I know that he returns well, but he’s not attacking my serve on the return of serve.

“So he went through his whole game and broke it down. It wasn’t like it was revelations to what we didn’t know about Jannik and what we were trying to change in his game.

“But when you take that conversation and sit down with a young man like Jannik Sinner and say,’ Hey, listen, I just spoke to Novak and this is what he thinks’, that leaves a big impression on a young player. So for Jannik it’s: ‘Right, give it to me. Let’s start doing these changes’.”

Cahill says those changes produced notable gains: Sinner and his team went on to win four Grand Slam titles and Sinner rose to No 1 in the ATP Rankings. Yet the US Open final loss to Alcaraz suggested the rivalry has shifted, with Alcaraz now the target Sinner must chase after improving following his own defeat to Sinner at Wimbledon.

Sinner did not shy from assessment after the match. “I was very predictable today,” conceded Sinner. “He did many things, he changed up the game. That’s also his style of how he plays now it’s gonna be on me if I want to make changes or not, you know, so that’s definitely, we are gonna work on that. Trying to be more prepared for the next match, what I will play against him.

“It also, I feel like, depends how you arrive to play against Carlos. You know, one thing is when the scoreline matches before it’s comfortable. But you always do the same things, you know, like I did, for example, during this tournament.

“I didn’t make one volley, you know, I didn’t use a lot of drop shots. And then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos when, where you have to go out of the comfort zone so I’m gonna aim to, you know, maybe even losing some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”

Sinner also hinted at the need to improve net play and add consistency to his first serve. He remained composed after the loss but acknowledged that only an upgraded all-court game will close the gap with his chief rival.

Ignacio Buse produced a composed performance to win the LXII Copa Sevilla, overcoming Genaro Alberto Olivieri 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a three-set final at Real Club de Tenis Betis. After building an early advantage with aggressive baseline play, Buse absorbed a late swing in momentum when he picked up a knock while attacking the net and required a medical timeout. He regrouped in the decider, relying on heavy groundstrokes and a reliable serve to close out the match in two hours and 21 minutes.

“It’s amazing. I am so happy and can’t describe what happened today. All the sacrifices and the hard training paid off,” said Buse, who added his second ATP Challenger Tour trophy following the Neckarcup in Bad Rappenau in June. “You just have to adapt, that’s the most important thing.” The World No. 135 earned €25,740 and 125 ATP Ranking points and said of his condition: “I feel good. I was scared but the physio told me that I was good. I will recover, and I think that I will be 100 per cent for sure. Now I will still celebrate with my team and then go back to competition next week.”

In Genoa, Luciano Darderi captured the AON Open Challenger – Memorial Giorgio Messina title, defeating Andrea Pellegrino 6-1, 6-3 in front of a 2,000-strong crowd at the Centrale Beppe Croce. The ATP Challenger 125 winner received his trophy from Mayor Silvia Salis and collected €25,740 plus 125 points. Darderi reflected on the week and his goals: “I really enjoyed this tournament,” and “From today I am inside the world’s Top 30. Step by step, I want to push into the Top 20 and earn a call-up for the Davis Cup. These are the goals I want to achieve.” The 22-year-old is coached by his father Gino and this marked his fourth Challenger title.

Elsewhere, Marco Trungelliti won the NÖ Open powered by EVN, defeating Andrew Paulson 7-5, 6-1 for his fifth Challenger trophy and €20,630 plus 100 points. “It was a great week for me, but I think also for all the players. I want to thank everyone for the fantastic organization and hospitality,” he said. In China, Giulio Zeppieri beat Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-6(2), 7-5 to claim his third Challenger crown, firing 17 aces and collecting $22,730 and 100 points. Alex Molcan and Billy Harris also lifted titles in Istanbul and Cassis respectively. Challengers continue this week across Europe and beyond.