Dominic Thiem picks the rising star that impressed him most at 16: Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner?

Dominic Thiem has admitted he didn’t expect one of Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner to reach the heights they have.

Thiem retired from professional tennis in 2024, without ever having faced Alcaraz or Sinner in an official match.

Despite that, the former US Open champion did spend time on court with both players during their teenage years. When looking back on those sessions, he recalled a clear difference between the two.

Sinner and Alcaraz have gone on to become two of the top stars in men’s tennis, but it wasn’t always obvious they would reach such heights. Thiem remembers there being a clear gap between them during their early days as pros.

While Thiem saw early promise in Sinner, he admitted that Alcaraz didn’t stand out in their first practice session. He wouldn’t have predicted how quickly the Spaniard would improve over the following years.

Sinner credits part of his improvement to facing off against Alcaraz so often. Their meetings have become some of the most anticipated matches on tour and have pushed both players to new levels.

Dominic Thiem says it was ‘completely obvious’ Carlos Alcaraz was always going to be amazing

Alcaraz earned his first ATP win at 16 during the Rio Open in 2020, a tournament where Thiem entered as the top seed.

They hit together in Rio, and looking back, Thiem said it was “completely obvious” that Alcaraz was destined for greatness.

In contrast, even though Thiem thought Sinner would go on to have a strong career, he didn’t feel the same way about him early on.

Speaking on the BTA Podcast, Thiem explained: “I was practicing with Carlos in Rio when he was 16 and it was completely obvious that this guy was going to be amazing because he just had this specialty.”

“He was playing unbelievably fast, unbelievably heavy. I was in my peak back then and I had troubles with his ball, so it was completely obvious; with Jannik it was not the case.”

“We players, we always look if somebody young is coming up. Jannik was I think always in Monte Carlo to practice with the guys, because his academy was close. We always talk about it and I think I practiced with him also when he was 16/17, obviously he was playing very well, he was playing very solid, but we couldn’t do a prediction.

“We knew this guy was going to have a really good career, but I didn’t know if he was going to be top 20, top 10 or if he is going to end up like he is now, a legend of the game and playing for every Grand Slam title, I was not sure. So that’s super interesting.”

Sinner later came into his own. By April 2024, he reached World No.1 after Novak Djokovic dropped out of the Madrid Open.

Sinner’s rise has been a massive step forward for Italian tennis. He’s already picked up two Grand Slam titles — the 2024 Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Thiem highlights the reasons behind Jannik Sinner’s rise to the top

Sinner, who is world number one again, has gone on to supersede Thiem’s predictions and is already a four-time Grand Slam champion at just 24 years old.

Asked what sets Sinner apart now, Thiem highlighted how much his movement has improved since their early training days.

“His consistency. From a distance I would say he is a very consistent worker and he’s just so stable all around,” said Thiem. “What stands out right now, what you couldn’t see when he was 16/17 is the way he moves, it’s incredible.

“If you watch him live, he’s even more impressive and the way he goes to every ball, no matter the pressure situation you put him [in] he’s always there and puts himself in a normal situation where he can get a really difficult ball back, so that’s what’s standing out I would say.”

Sinner could also join an exclusive group of just nine men to have won all four majors if he lifts the trophy at Roland-Garros this year.

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