The 2025 ATP season really turned out to be all about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, didn’t it? From the clay of Roland-Garros to the grass of Wimbledon and the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, the story of men’s tennis has been all about the thrilling rivalry between these two young superstars. They shared the four Grand Slam titles, swapped the world No. 1 ranking, and delivered matches filled with high drama that turned every meeting into a must-see event.

This captivated fans around the world and led to record television ratings in important markets like Italy. But this intense celebration of the “Sincaraz” era has really stirred up some strong reactions from people in the sport. Calvin Betton, a well-known coach on the doubles circuit, is the one sharing his thoughts.

According to Swish Tennis on X, Betton expressed his frustration, but it wasn’t aimed at the players. Instead, he took issue with the ATP’s ‘hyper-focus’ on Sinner and Alcaraz, feeling it overshadowed the rest of the tour and especially doubles tennis.

“There is zero marketing for this (doubles). Zero marketing,” Betton stated. “They’re obsessed with, whenever Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner cross each other in a corridor, they’ll stick a camera there and go ‘two legends meet’. This happens every week; there is no reason for you to get it on camera all the time. It’s pathetic.”

The coach’s outburst really brings to light a key tension in today’s sports marketing world.

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The ATP sees the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry as a real treasure. Their matchups in 2025, featuring three big finals, created an engaging story for casual fans and highlighted a significant statistical milestone, showcasing one of the youngest rivalries for the No. 1 spot in decades. This approach is clearly all about making money, aiming to grab as much attention and viewership as possible. But Betton argues that this commercial success has its downsides.

Focusing so much on just two players could really overshadow the other hundred-plus singles players and the whole doubles scene. This might end up hurting the sport’s long-term health and diversity.

But there were also other voices expressing concerns during the 2025 season about the favoritism in the Sincaraz rivalry.

Zverev feels Alcaraz and Sinner given an added edge

Joining the conversation about the tour’s emphasis on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev has openly claimed that tournament directors are tweaking playing conditions to give an edge to the younger players.

After a match at the 2025 Shanghai Masters, Zverev shared his thoughts on the uniformity of court speeds.

“I hate when [court speeds are] the same. And I know that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament.”

But he just couldn’t shake off those memories of how things used to be on the ATP tour.

“We always had different surfaces — you couldn’t play the same tennis the same way on a grass court, a hard court, and a clay court. Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface,” he said.

As we look toward 2026, the sport faces a real challenge in balancing the undeniable charm of its biggest stars with the need to promote the entire competitive field. This will be crucial in deciding whether the tour is creating a lasting legacy or just going after the next viral moment.