Tennis, Sinner and Alcaraz return to training after the holidays

Journalist

December 27 – 11.32am – MILANO

One on skis, the other in the gym. One increasingly attached to his team, with the confirmation of Darren Cahill for another year alongside Simone Vagnozzi, the other fresh from his divorce from the mentor-coach who raised him. The paths of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t be more different, but one thing is certain: they will both lead to Melbourne. On the other side of the world, the first major Slam challenge awaits them where a page of history could be written. Both, in 2026, have the possibility of hitting the Grand Slam of their careers, or completing the collection of the four most prestigious tournaments. To achieve this, Alcaraz will have to conquer the kingdom of Sinner, the Melbourne hard court where the blue has triumphed in the last two editions. In the Australian summer Carlos never got beyond the quarter-finals, but already at the end of the 2025 season, defeated by his arch-rival at the Finals in Turin, but fresh from No. 1 at the end of the season, he raised the challenge again: “The Australian Open is my main objective for next season”. Who knows, perhaps the separation from Juan Carlos Ferrero will once again provide emotional fuel for the 22-year-old Carlos, eager to demonstrate that he has definitively entered adulthood. More mature and aware in his choices, as had already happened to Jannik Sinner when he decided to leave the care of Riccardo Piatti to rely on Simone Vagnozzi. Alcaraz has the chance to demonstrate it immediately, trying to take the throne of Australia off the back of the South Tyrolean by being the first to complete the collection of Slam crowns. Only eight have succeeded in the history of rackets and the last three were Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic 66 majors in three.

Run-up

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A challenge within a challenge, a head-to-head that goes beyond points and rankings. It’s about taking a beating, once again, for the entire season. To compete for great goals, and if for Alcaraz the “match point” is already in Melbourne, Sinner will have to wait for Roland Garros. The garden of Carlos, who has already triumphed twice at the Bois de Boulogne, could be the new land of conquest for Sinner, who is also chasing the Grand Slam of his career. A sublime way to erase the tears of Paris 2025, with those three championship points not exploited and capable of igniting the ferocious comeback of Alcaraz, triumphant in five sets on the sand which was won 14 times by Rafa Nadal, whose legacy he is called upon to take up. Different approach, different mood. Jannik Sinner has chosen to enjoy an extra week of rest after the hardships of a two-faced year. The three-month disqualification for the Clostebol case slowed down the pace and programs of the world number 2 who a few months later made up for it with the greatest joy, the title at Wimbledon, Carlos’ favorite flowerbed for the last two years. A season finale full of joys but demanding on a physical level, convinced Sinner to skip the Davis Cup, having a justified absence, and to manage his energy as best as possible in view of a 2026 that is finally clear of clouds. Jannik spent three weeks in Dubai, the first in the company of his girlfriend Laila Hasanovic, relaxing and athletic training, and the other two at full speed. Simone Vagnozzi was joined by Darren Cahill for an intense period of work with some small exceptions at the end, such as the trip to Qatar to watch the Intercontinental Cup final between PSG and Flamengo. Meetings and selfies with the football champions with whom Sinner loves to interact, and then home. Christmas is sacred and is celebrated in the mountains, this time together with Laila, who has officially joined the family. A bit of skiing, but always in safety, and then from tomorrow we’ll go back to work at the Country in Monte Carlo to prepare for the confirmation of the Australian Open and prevent Carlos from completing the album “Slam first”.

Amici

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Alcaraz, also knocked out in Davis, played two exhibitions in the United States before resting a bit and starting to sweat again in the gym and on the pitch. The farewell to Ferrero with a controversial aftermath between the former coach and Carlos’ father did not interrupt the work in Murcia, now the definitive place of work of the number 1 in the world who invited our Flavio Cobolli, his dear friend, for a week of training. With the coach remaining at his side, Samuel Lopez, and the athletic trainer Albert Lledo, we tried to proceed according to the plans already established at the time of Ferrero, who yesterday returned to the split in an interview with Radio Nacional Espanola: “I hope we will remain friends, but there were points of the contract that in principle I could never have accepted”. Now we turn the page.