Jannik Sinner draped his left arm and his racket around Carlos Alcaraz's neck. Alcaraz then put his right arm on Sinner’s shoulder.
The friendly greeting between the two players after the latest in a series of high-stakes matches was a fitting image for the year in men’s tennis.
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Spain's Carlos Alcaraz serves to Italy's Jannik Sinner during the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hug after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, and winner Italy's Jannik Sinner stand on the podium after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hug after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Sinner and Alcaraz are dominating the game and their levels are so close that they keep alternating who wins the biggest titles.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the French Open final; Sinner got revenge at Wimbledon; Alcaraz won again at the U.S. Open; and then Sinner defended his ATP Finals title before his home fans in Turin on Sunday.
Alcaraz sealed the year-ending No. 1 ranking, while No. 2 Sinner goes into the offseason coming off a confidence-boosting victory over his rival.
“The facts are they’re a level above everyone,” said Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was beaten by both Sinner (in the group stage) and Alcaraz (in the semifinals) at the season-ending event for the top eight players.
“The ranking doesn’t lie. They’re the two best players. That’s the facts. Different game styles, but both put extreme pressure on their opponent in different ways,” added Auger-Aliassime, who ends the year at a career-high No. 5. “They keep showing up and playing good, so credit to them.”
Added ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, “These two guys are really incredible for our sport, both on and off the court.”
It was the most-watched tennis match in Italian TV history with 7 million viewers, according to numbers released by the national ratings service Monday.
Sinner, who also won the Australian Open, reached the final of all four Grand Slams and the finals — despite missing three months near the start of the year after settling a doping case.
Like in 2024, Sinner didn’t drop a set at finals — becoming the first player in the event’s history to achieve that feat in two different years.
“I feel to be a better player than last year,” Sinner said. “All the losses I had, I tried to see the positive thing and trying to evolve me as a player. I felt like this happened in a very good way.”
Alcaraz acknowledged a year ago when he won only one match during the group stage at finals that he still had to learn how to play indoors.
Well, consider him adept at the surface now.
“I didn’t doubt about playing and fighting toe-to-toe with Jannik on indoor court,” Alcaraz said. “I’m pretty sure that it’s going to keep growing up, my level on indoor court.”
After the loss to Alcaraz at the U.S. Open, Sinner said he wanted to improve his serve and the results were evident in Turin where he dropped his serve only once — in the opening game of the second set against Alcaraz.
“He’s actually pumped up the miles per hour and he is getting the ball closer to the line, which means he gets a lot more free points,” Darren Cahill, one of Sinner’s coaches, said of the Italian's first serve.
There was also a big 187 kph (116 mph) second serve from Sinner that helped him save a set point against Alcaraz late in the second set.
“I had already served two or three second serves in the same way (in that game) and I kept on losing the point. So I had to come up with something different. I decided for the riskiest option,” Sinner said. “Sometimes you need a bit of courage and some luck. I would rather lose that point then have him win it.”
Added Alcaraz, “That surprised me.”
Auger-Aliassime also reached the U.S. Open semifinals in September, and his ranking rocketed up from No. 30 midway through the year.
“I’ve always believed, since I’m a kid believed, and my ambition was to win Grand Slams and be No. 1 in the world,” the Canadian said. “Now it’s a matter of doing the right things to improve. If I do, we’ll see where that leaves me.”
At 25, Auger-Aliassime is older than both Sinner (24) and Alcaraz (22).
“We want (Sinner) to be playing his best tennis when he’s 28, 29, 30 years of age,” Cahill said. “Hopefully we’re setting the plan and platform for him to be able to do that in a few years.”
While Alcaraz was heading to Bologna to represent Spain in the Davis Cup finals this week, Sinner was starting his offseason and already focusing on 2026.
Sinner will be the two-time defending champion at the Australian Open and then will attempt to win the French Open for the first time.
“Clay is going to be a big target for us next year,” Cahill said. “We’ll keep working on that.”
Andrew Dampf is at https://x.com/AndrewDampf
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz serves to Italy's Jannik Sinner during the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after winning the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hug after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, and winner Italy's Jannik Sinner stand on the podium after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hug after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain's international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone and forced Iraq to halt operations at all of its oil terminals after attacking its port of Basra on the Persian Gulf.
Iran flouted a U.N. Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors, with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem as Israel intercepted incoming Iranian missiles, and loud booms were heard later in the day in another attack on the city.
Israel launched a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran and in Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel started the war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has focused on inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to halt their attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that was not imminent, however, promising to “finish the job” even though he claimed Iran is “virtually destroyed.”
“We don’t want to leave early do we? We’ve got to finish the job," he said at an event Wednesday in Kentucky.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei hasn't yet made a statement or been seen since being chosen to succeed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening day of the conflict. But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested online Thursday that for the war to end, the world would need to recognize Iran’s “legitimate rights," pay reparations and offer guarantees against future attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported.
Amid speculation that the U.S. might target Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s main oil terminal, Iran's parliamentary speaker threatened that any attempt to take Iranian islands would “make the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders.”
“The blood of American soldiers is Trump’s personal responsibility,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf added in a social media post.
With traffic in the strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9% to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38% over what it cost when the war started.
The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Persian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country's international airport. Sirens sounded again later in the morning with more incoming Iranian fire.
Kuwait's Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people. The UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in the kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field.
Following an attack on Iraq's Basra port Wednesday that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that operations were halted at all the country's oil terminals.
Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Persian Gulf port.
In the UAE, CitiBank said it would close all its branches except one due to a threat by Iran, not yet realized, to target financial institutions in the region. Other financial institutions have reportedly urged their staff to work from home for the time being.
In addition to the attacks on Jerusalem, in which no casualties were immediately reported, missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
In Tehran, security force checkpoints came under attack for the first time on Wednesday night, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. At least 10 people were killed in the suspected drone assaults.
Israel and the U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment over whether they were behind the attacks.
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, also contributed to this report, along with AP journalists around the world.
Israeli authorities inspect homes damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel central Israel, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Israel Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks during a meeting of the Security Council at U.N. headquarters, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A family enjoys the sunset with the view of the city skyline and Burj Khalifa, at Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Smoke rises after an explosion at the airport in Irbil, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A man inspects a car damaged in an Israeli airstrike at the Ramlet al-Baida public beach in Beirut, Lebanon, early Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
