The 2025 tennis season has been electrified by a brewing controversy over court conditions, a debate thrust into the spotlight by Alexander Zverev’s pointed accusations. During the Shanghai Masters, the German world number three expressed frustration, stating, “I hate when [court speeds are] the same. I know that tournament directors are going in that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament.” His comments, echoing similar sentiments previously voiced by Roger Federer, suggested a deliberate homogenization of surfaces to favor the hyper-aggressive, baseline-dominated games of world number one Carlos Alcaraz and number two Jannik Sinner.

When initially confronted with these claims, Sinner offered a diplomatic rebuttal, calmly stating, “You know, me and Carlos, we don’t make the courts. It’s not our decision. We try to adapt ourself in every situation. I feel like still every week is a bit different. I’ve played some great tennis even when it was faster courts. But I’m not making the courts, you know, so I just try to adapt and play my best tennis I can, and that’s it.”

This measured response set the stage for a more substantive commentary that would emerge weeks later on the controversial courts of Riyadh. Following his straight-sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Six Kings Slam exhibition, Jannik Sinner shifted from defending his adaptability to actively echoing the very type of observational criticism Zverev had made, though without the accusatory tone.

In his post-match remarks, Sinner provided a detailed technical assessment of the playing surface, stating, “It’s an unusual indoor court. It’s very bouncy. At times, it’s very fast, and the court slows down a little bit. So it’s many situations we have to handle with.”

This analysis directly aligned with the observations of Taylor Fritz, who had also secured a win in Riyadh against Alexander Zverev himself. After his match, Fritz remarked, “Yeah, I mean, the court, it seems like it’s playing pretty fast, especially for an indoor court. I can’t believe how high it’s bouncing. I felt like both of our serves were bouncing over each other’s heads at times. So it’s definitely more bouncy than I expected. It definitely feels like there’s a bit of altitude. It’s definitely, it’s playing fast. I expected to have more rallies tonight.”

What makes the comments from Sinner and Fritz particularly resonant is that they move beyond the framework of alleged favoritism and instead highlight a universal challenge on the tour: the need to constantly adjust to unpredictable playing environments. Their shared experience in Riyadh suggests that the issue is less about a conspiracy to aid specific players and more about the inconsistent and sometimes extreme characteristics of courts at non-ATP exhibition events, which can feature unique installations. However, Sinner also has another big problem of his own, heading towards the rest of the ATP season.

Jannik Sinner will be looking towards a massive challenge

Last month’s US Open final wrapped up Jannik Sinner’s time as World No.1, with his rival Carlos Alcaraz taking the title from him. So, the Tennis Channel panel, featuring Steve Weissman, Prakash Amritraj, and former ATP pro Sam Querrey, talked about Alcaraz and Sinner’s chances of snagging the Year-End No. 1 title. It looked like all three of them had teamed up with the six-time slam champion to keep his reign going strong. Weissman said that “Sinner would need to win basically everything and hope Carlos Alcaraz has some early exits to end as the Year No.1.”

The Italian is gearing up to compete in Vienna, the Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals in Turin. It’s not really his turn right now; his own performance just isn’t cutting it, and he’s going to have to hope for some mistakes from the Spaniard if he wants any shot at getting back to the top this season. Amritraj also mentioned, “I could easily see Jannik Sinner sweeping through events” but even he believes that “to have Carlos finish poorly, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Querrey also jumped in, sharing his thoughts on Alcaraz, saying, “I think Carlos is going to win some matches and maybe some tournaments.” So, along with the pressure to stay consistent in his last three tournaments for 2025, Sinner is dealing with this big challenge. If he can’t manage to stop Alcaraz, and with a little luck on his side, then he’s really got no shot at getting that #1 spot back.