Carlos Alcaraz summed up his feelings for Jannik Sinner after securing his third win against the Italian in the 2024 season. He defeated Sinner by 6(6)-7,6-4,7-6(3) in the finals of the 2024 China Open. After securing this hard-fought triumph, we saw both the players reflecting their love and respect for each other during their on-court speeches. However, some of the fans weren’t too pleased with Alcaraz’s on-court “behavior.” Some of them even took to social media to portray their hatred. Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, recently shared a few lines about those haters. She even hailed Carlos Alcaraz as the “nicest person.” What all the fuss is about, though?

Tennis TV recently shared a clip highlighting Alcaraz’s speech during the on-court interview. In that video clip, Alcaraz was seen heaping praise on Jannik Sinner. He said, “You deserve it.. with your team and the work you put every day. I’ve seen you working when I come to the club. You’re really really humble. That makes you an even better success…I respect you very much as a tennis player, but even more so as a person.” After seeing this post, a fan commented, “I’m tired of the @carlosalcaraz grandstanding, ear-pulling, fist-pumping, adulation-seeking, self-indulgent behavior. He may have won the match but has really lost the bigger game of life.“

The fan clearly raised a few question marks on Carlos Alcaraz’s behaviors on the court. However, Stubbs portrayed her disagreement with those statements with a comment under that post. She wrote, “The kid is THE nicest person you could ever meet. There is not one player that dislikes him. He treats everyone so lovely and with so much respect. So trust me, not liking him based on his passion on court, is a misguided one.” Previously during an interview, Alcaraz had revealed that he always tries to be friendly, and warm. He always loves to get on with everyone on the Tour.

According to him, “It’s more important to be a good person than anything else. At the end of my career, I’d like people to remember me, more than as a tennis player, as someone with good values.” So he’s someone who always tries to use the manners that his parents had taught him since his childhood. We can see his efforts both on and off the court! Perhaps that’s what Stubbs might have just wanted to tell that hater. For example, when a lot of players were heavily criticizing Sinner for the doping incident, Alcaraz was among the first ones to show his support towards his fierce rival.

There’s always plenty of admiration and respect between Alcaraz and Sinner. The China Open post-match presentation was a prime example of such unique bonding between the two. We saw Sinner say, “You’re (Alcaraz) doing an amazing job. You have a great team and family behind you. Hopefully, we can still play a couple more times in the future, which I’m quite sure. It’s always a big pleasure to share the court with you.” Not only Sinner, but several times we’ve seen other players also engaging in a funny banter with this ever-smiling Spaniard. They simply love his company!

Rennae Stubbs is also perhaps one of his biggest admirers. Previously during the Wimbledon Championships, we saw Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs labeling Carlos Alcaraz as a “Special young talent!” Both Alcaraz and Sinner have played some outstanding tennis this year and have also shared the four Grand Slam titles in between the two. Suppose Stubbs is asked: Who would be the most successful in between these two in the next decade? What would be her answer to this question?

Rennae Stubbs feels Jannik Sinner will have a better career than Carlos Alcaraz

In July this year, Stubbs was seen sharing a few words on Carlos Alcaraz for his incredible performance at the Wimbledon Championships. She tweeted, “Wow Carlos Alcaraz is one special young talent! I never thought I would see a player as great as Novak, Rafa, and Roger, but there is no doubt in my mind this kid actually might get to 20 as well.” She even called his rapid rise to be quite “phenomenal“. Alcaraz is just 21 years old, and he has already won 16 titles in his career including four Grand Slam triumphs! Truly phenomenal, isn’t it?

However, if we go back a little, in February this year there was a moment when we saw Stubbs picking Jannik Sinner over Carlos Alcaraz. She said she would put money on Sinner “doing better” than Alcaraz in the next decade if she had to choose one between the two. Surely, they are the two big names in the tennis world at the moment (after Novak Djokovic!), but what pushed Stubbs to jump to this conclusion?

According to her, “When you think about if you had to put money on a player doing better in their career over the next decade between Sinner and Alcaraz, I’d put it on Sinner. I think he’s physically better, I think he has more games. I actually think he’s a better all-round player at the moment.” She feels the biggest issue with Carlos Alcaraz at the moment is that his serve doesn’t get him enough free points. Stubbs feels Alcaraz plays a bit too defensively at times on certain surfaces if compared to Sinner. The tennis legend feels Sinner has comparatively “less weaknesses” in his game. Through these reactions from Stubbs, we can get a clear indication of how excited she is to witness these two superstars ruling the tennis courts in the upcoming year. She’s just one of us, right?