Carlos Alcaraz wins ‘This’ Astonishing Prize Money After Defending his Roland Garros Crown

Carlos Alcaraz has successfully defended his Roland Garros title, after an epic five-setter against Jannik Sinner.

Carlos Alcaraz wins ‘This’ Astonishing Prize Money After Defending his Roland Garros Crown

Carlos Alcaraz (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Carlos Alcaraz made a stunning comeback to defeat Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller at the 2025 French Open final. After dropping the first two sets, Alcaraz rallied to win 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 in a match that lasted over five hours.

This victory marked his second straight Roland Garros title and his third Grand Slam win of the 2024–2025 stretch, adding to his Wimbledon triumph. At just 22, Alcaraz now holds five Grand Slam titles, making him the third-youngest man to reach that milestone after Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.

The win earned Alcaraz €2.55 million (about $2.9 million), pushing his career earnings to $44.7 million. This moved him up to seventh on the all-time earnings list, ahead of Pete Sampras. Sinner, who received $1.45 million as the runner-up, now has $41.5 million in total career earnings, just behind Sampras.

Coco Gauff claimed the women’s singles title by overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. After losing the first set, Gauff turned the match around to win 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. On the men’s side, Sinner and Alcaraz have now won the last six Grand Slam titles, solidifying their place as the leading stars of the next generation, following the legendary dominance of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

Both players have also become top earners in the sport. In 2024, Sinner was ranked 43rd among the world’s highest-paid athletes with $52.3 million, while Alcaraz was 87th with $40.3 million. Alcaraz, a rising favorite among sponsors, is backed by Nike, Rolex, BMW, and others.

The tournament also paid tribute to Rafael Nadal, whose legacy on clay may eventually be inherited by Alcaraz. Sinner, meanwhile, remained world No. 1 for 52 weeks despite a recent three-month suspension that temporarily halted his ranking progress.

Carlos Alcaraz stuns Jannik Sinner

Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz saved three championship points to defeat Jannik Sinner and retain his French Open crown. In a gripping match between the world’s top two players, Alcaraz pulled off a dramatic comeback to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The clash will go down as one of the greatest finals in tennis history.

Carlos Alcaraz (via X/Carlos Alcaraz Daily)
Carlos Alcaraz (via X/Carlos Alcaraz Daily)

Lasting five hours and 29 minutes, it became the longest French Open final in the Open Era. It broke the previous record of four hours and 42 minutes set in 1982 when Mats Wilander beat Guillermo Vilas. It also ranks as the second-longest Grand Slam final ever, only trailing the 2012 Australian Open final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Sinner held a two-set lead and was up 5-3 in the fourth set, with three championship points at 40-0 on Alcaraz’s serve. However, he could not close out the match. Alcaraz managed to hold serve, break back, and push the match into a final set. In the fifth, Alcaraz had a chance to serve for the title at 5-4 but was broken. Down 5-6, he held serve from deuce and then dominated the final tiebreak.

Alcaraz made history by becoming the first man in the Open Era to save three championship points in a Grand Slam final. Only two other men have saved match points and gone on to win a major final: Gaston Gaudio at the 2004 French Open and Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2019. Alcaraz now joins that rare group with a performance for the ages.

Carlos Alcaraz joins an elite company

World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz saved three match points to defeat Jannik Sinner in a dramatic five-set final at Roland Garros. With this comeback, he successfully defended his French Open title. Alcaraz joins an elite group of just six men in the Open Era who have won a Roland Garros final after trailing by two sets.

Carlos Alcaraz Roland Garros
Carlos Alcaraz (image via Roland Garros)

The first to do so was Bjorn Borg in 1974. As a teenager, Borg battled back against Manuel Orantes to win in five sets. He dropped the first two sets but dominated the rest, winning 2-6, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 to claim his first of six French Open titles.

Ivan Lendl accomplished the same feat in 1984. He overcame John McEnroe, who had a two-set lead and a break in the fourth set. Lendl turned the match around and earned his first Grand Slam title, winning 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5. In 1999, Andre Agassi pulled off a similar comeback to defeat Andrei Medvedev. After losing the first two sets, Agassi rallied for a 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win, completing his Career Grand Slam.

In 2004, Gaston Gaudio stunned Guillermo Coria in an all-Argentine final. Gaudio lost the first set 6-0 and faced two match points but turned the match around to win 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6. The most recent comeback before Alcaraz’s was in 2021 when Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas. Down two sets, Djokovic fought back to win 6-7(8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his second French Open crown.

Also Read: Aryna Sabalenka Labels her Roland Garros Final Performance as ‘the Worst in Many Months”