Carlos Alcaraz wins Laureus, Jannik Sinner fans perplexed

Carlos Alcaraz was elected sportsman of the year at the Laureus Awards 2026, in a ceremony held in Madrid in which the Murcian tennis player beat friend-rival Jannik Sinner, among others. The latter also expressed sympathy to him for the delicate wrist injury he is battling with, but in Italy very few liked the decision. Indeed, comments contesting the decision flooded in on social media, some of them focusing on the fact that the award was given precisely in Spain.

“Strange… In Spain… Alcaraz…,” someone wrote. “It’s in Madrid, it’s logical to celebrate the local sportsman…,” someone else remarked. “They sing and play it themselves,” was the remark of another Sinner fan who objected to the Laureus Awards on the web. Others took issue instead with the enthusiasm of the awardee and the audience: “Applause of what?” and “You don’t applaud anything” some of the protests read on social media. Then there were those who complained precisely about the direct seasonal comparison with Sinner. “He wasn’t even the best tennis player of the year, mah,” pointed out one user. Another added, “Someone who has not even been the best tennis player can hardly be the best sportsman.”

Another comment summed up both concepts, “Laugh laugh, without the absurd and unjustified suspension Alcaraz would have remained second and two slams each but the finals to Sinner, you’ll see this year.” In contrast, someone believes that the Laureus Award went to the very champion of another discipline: “Shameful as a sportsman… he would have deserved Pogacar.” Even more insightful is a further comment, “There is really no comparison. Alcaraz won about as much as Sinner. Pogacar dominated far and wide all season. And there would have been others who deserved that recognition more than Alcaraz or Sinner. Absurdly, the Spaniard Marc Marquez, who dominated MotoGP.”

Beyond the social controversy, the Madrid ceremony also offered moments of great sportsmanship. Sinner himself, at the microphones of Sky Sports, wanted to send a message of closeness to Alcaraz, while also expressing, however, his desire to find him facing him again on the field soon: “Carlos is going through a moment that is not easy. We all hope to see him back on the field as soon as possible. Maybe already in Rome. I, as an opponent, hope he will be there for Roland Garros as well. Because anyway when you want to win you aim to do it against the strongest players in the world. And he is definitely there. Others have had rivalries that lasted fifteen and more years. We are just getting started, so anything can still happen between us.”

Alcaraz himself, asked by TVE on the sidelines of the ceremony, took stock of his own physical situation without hiding concern: “The next medical examination will be crucial to make a decision,” he said about the possibility of participating in Roland Garros. “We will do everything possible so that the outcome of the examination will be positive. These days I have to be very patient, I’m trying. I try to stay positive and motivated, even though these will be really long days.” Hopes of seeing him back on the court in Rome, however, seem very remote: Madrid tournament director Feliciano Lopez, who has experienced a similar problem firsthand during his own career, was drastic: “I think it’s almost impossible for him to play in Rome, let’s hope he can recover for Paris.”

A picture that becomes even more weighty when one considers the situation in the ATP rankings. Alcaraz risks losing up to 3,000 points in the coming weeks, considering that he triumphed at both the Internazionali d’Italia and Roland Garros last year. In the meantime, Sinner is looking ahead and preparing for the Madrid Masters 1000, scheduled for April 22 to May 3, where he will start as the big favorite. For the South Tyrolean this is a historic occasion: by winning the tournament, he would become the first tennis player to win five consecutive Masters 1000s, following his successes in Paris-Bercy, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. It was precisely the Monte Carlo final against Alcaraz, won by Sinner, that had registered record ratings: more than 3.2 million average total viewers in total audience between Sky and TV8, with a share of 25.1 percent, confirming how the rivalry between the two champions has now become a phenomenon capable of enthralling millions of fans far beyond the borders of the tennis world.