(Video) Aryna Sabalenka Accidentally Mixes Up Carlos Alcaraz’s Name With Jannik Sinner on a Post-US Open Show

Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka claimed the US Open men's singles and women's singles titles, respectively.

(Video) Aryna Sabalenka Accidentally Mixes Up Carlos Alcaraz’s Name With Jannik Sinner on a Post-US Open Show

Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, and Jannik Sinner (via X/The Tennis Letter/fvaeey)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Aryna Sabalenka incurred a moment to forget on live television after she accidentally called Carlos Alcaraz by Jannik Sinner’s name during their interview on Today on Monday (September 8). The awkward slip happened barely twelve hours after Alcaraz beat Sinner in four sets to reclaim the US Open men’s singles title.

Alcaraz met Sinner for the third consecutive Grand Slam final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday (September 7). They had met in their first major final at the French Open in June, where Alcaraz produced a remarkable comeback from two sets down to beat the Italian star after five hours and 29 minutes at Roland Garros.

Sinner then earned his revenge at the Wimbledon Championship, a month later, beating the 22-year-old in four sets to win his first grass-court Grand Slam. But at the US Open men’s singles final, Alcaraz got the better of the World No.2 on the court, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to claim his second hard-court major title.

A day before Alcaraz’s triumph, Sabalenka defeated American star Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) to win her second US Open crown and capture her first Grand Slam of the season after losing two. She became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to defend the US Open women’s singles title.

Sabalenka and Alcaraz sat for an interview with their US Open on their laps. In a viral video on social media, Sabalenka was accidentally called Alcaraz ‘Jannik’ with the Spaniard reacting well to it. She said:

By the way, I have a TikTok video to do with Jannik. I’m sorry.

Alcaraz then responded by saying that he understands the WTA No.1 star’s statement as it was just 9 am in the morning:

There’s no problem. It’s 9 in the morning. Don’t worry, it’s all good. I didn’t feel anything so don’t worry.

Alcaraz and Sabalenka took home $5 million each in cash prizes after winning the US Open, a 39 percent increase from last year’s prize and the biggest payout among the four Grand Slams. Also, both players are currently at the top of the ATP and WTA rankings, respectively, following their success at Flushing Meadows.

Carlos Alcaraz admits that his rivalry with Jannik Sinner is special following his triumph at the US Open

Carlos Alcaraz ended Jannik Sinner’s 65-week reign at the top of the ATP rankings after claiming the US Open. The first time the Spaniard was World No.1 was in September 2022 at age 19, making him the youngest No.1 in ATP history after claiming his first Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows. He relinquished that ranking a year later.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz 1
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

But since his rivalry with Sinner, he has been pushing to return to the World No.1, and he finally achieved it on Sunday (September 7). During the aforementioned interview, Alcaraz admitted that the rivalry with Sinner is special. He added that competing against Sinner in the last five finals has made him desire to fight for tour titles:

I think we push each other to the limit every time and my practices is just focused to see how I could be better just to beat Jannik. That rivalry is special, splitting the Grand Slams, fighting for the great things, and then seeing that thanks to him I’m just a better player. I think the rivalry is great for that.

Alcaraz leads Sinner 10-5 in their head-to-head record. In the past two seasons, the six-time Grand Slam champion has won seven of his eight meetings against the 24-year-old.

Against all other players on tour in that span, Sinner is 109-4. In fact, no player on tour has beaten Sinner more than once since last year, apart from his great rival.