Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's on-court rivalry does not mean the ATP stars would never consider competing together in doubles.
According to Tennis Infinity, both men are currently in Korea ahead of an exhibition scheduled for January 10th. It is an exciting prospect, especially since the country does not host an ATP event that is 250-level or higher.
Alcaraz and Sinner have utterly dominated men's tennis in the past two years. They have split the eight Grand Slam titles in that time between them and contested the last three Major finals.
Despite consistently playing against one another for the most significant honors, Alcaraz and Sinner have a good relationship off the court. They have repeatedly spoken highly of each other as people, and their willingness to play in an exhibition is unsurprising.
In a press conference ahead of their match in Korea, a reporter asked whether the pair would consider playing doubles. Each main said it was possible, and Sinner did not rule out that it would happen sometime this year.
Alcaraz said, "At least once would be fine. But I think I’m playing forehand and he’s playing backhand, if my partner agrees [points at Jannik]."
"We have never talked about this, but I think it would be fun. Maybe this year, it's gonna be a surprise," Sinner replied.
Alcaraz acknowledged that their successful singles careers can make finding the right moment to play doubles challenging, but the Spaniard would like to compete alongside Sinner at least once.
The Spanish star added, “We’ve thought about it once or twice. But we’re singles players and we play a lot of matches, tournament after tournament, so it’s difficult to add doubles. Still, doing it at least once would be nice."
The 2025 US Open's new mixed doubles format led to some high-profile teams, including Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, but a partnership between Alcaraz and Sinner would generate more excitement than any of the ones at Flushing Meadows.
