Men’s Tour Has ‘Major Charisma Problem’ Without Carlos Alcaraz As Jannik Sinner’s Tennis is ‘Optimized’

The tennis world is eagerly waiting for Carlos Alcaraz, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about when he will return. Tennis needs the Spaniard, said his arch-rival Jannik Sinner after defending his title at Wimbledon with a four-set win over Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz is nursing his wrist, which he injured while competing at the Barcelona Open in April, and has not played since then. The injury spoiled his French Open hat-trick goal and made him stay on the sidelines during Wimbledon, where he reached the finals in the previous three seasons, winning in 2023 and 2024 by upsetting Novak Djokovic.

Without Alcaraz, many believe the men’s tour is lacking charisma, including co-host of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Caitlin Thompson. His game is more creative and versatile, plus his joyful personality has made him one of the most popular tennis players in the world.

I do think we have a major charisma problem on the men’s tour when Carlos Alcaraz is not playing tennis. Maybe it’s because I talk with more casual fans who are a little disappointed to see somebody like Alex Zverev, who’s a major step down. Although to your point, he played a great tournament, and he’s certainly improved. […] So, you know, Alex Zverev getting through nobody seeded in the top 10 to get to the final was sort of like, ugh, this guy again?

Stubbs, who is coaching the legendary Serena Williams after her comeback, showered a lot of praise on Sinner, calling his shot-making “unbelievable” and “ridiculous”. But Thompson thinks Sinner plays an optimized style of tennis.

It’s optimized. It’s hard to get excited about it for me, but I’m glad he won. I was rooting for him. I’m glad that he repeated. But yeah, his style of play is optimized, is what I would say. I miss Carlos Alcaraz a lot.

Caitlin Thompson added

Zverev, in the absence of Alcaraz as well as Sinner and Djokovic’s early exits, reached the final of the French Open for the second time. In a five-set thriller, Sascha beat Flavio Cobolli to end his Grand Slam title drought. Had Zverev defeated Sinner, he would have become the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Channel Slam.

Mark Petchey reacts to Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon win over Alexander Zverev

Although Alexander Zverev is receiving praise for the way he performed against Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, Mark Petchey explained why the World No.1 eventually came out on top in the end. Petchey, who also coached Emma Raducanu, compared Sinner’s movement on grass with that of Novak Djokovic, the winner of seven Wimbledon titles.

The forehand difference wasn’t in Sinner’s favour for one hour and 41 minutes, but a slapped forehand from an out shot found something that had been missing. Timing looked better after that, and Sascha [Zverev] has never hit his forehand better until that stage. But to do it for over three hours plus was always asking a lot for a first run out at that level. Had to drop and did. […] Jannik’s movement on grass is as good as Novak’s.

Mark Petchey said on Tennis Channel

Sinner, the 10th man in the Open Era to defend the title at the All England Club, registered his 10th consecutive win over Zverev in that final to improve his head-to-head record to 11-4. The five-time Grand Slam champion was the reason Djokovic failed to reach the final.

Sinner beat the Serb for the second consecutive time in the Wimbledon semifinals, both times in straight sets, taking a 7-5 head-to-head lead. It was Djokovic who stopped Sinner from reaching the final of this year’s Australian Open.

Also read: Alex Corretja Believes Carlos Alcaraz’s Absence Has Made the ATP “An Absolute Hell”