Felix Auger-Aliassime’s dream run to the semifinals of the 2025 US Open ended at the hands of Jannik Sinner, but his performance across the fortnight has drawn widespread praise and some pointed analysis. Former doubles great and commentator Rennae Stubbs, in her popular podcast, reflected on the Canadian’s mindset in the high-stakes clash with the World No. 1. While Auger-Aliassime showed flashes of brilliance, the biggest question is whether he truly believed he could dethrone the best player in the world.
Why Did Rennae Stubbs Believe Felix Auger-Aliassime Lacked Self-Belief Against Jannik Sinner?
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s run to the semifinals of the 2025 US Open showcased some of his best tennis, but according to analyst Rennae Stubbs, a lack of self-belief may have cost him the chance to go even further.
While the Canadian delivered statement wins over Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, and Alex de Minaur en route to the semifinals, Stubbs suggested that against Sinner, the battle was as much psychological as it was physical.
“I think the thing that really stopped him beating Jannik was he didn’t truly believe in himself,” Stubbs said after the Canadian fell to Jannik Sinner in the last four. “And people will say, ‘What do you mean?’ But it’s true.”
“It’s like a subconscious and conscious mind. And the conscious mind is like, ‘Yeah, I can win this match.’ And the subconscious mind’s like, ‘Can you Felix? Can you really? You’re not really as good as this guy.’”
Additionally, Stubbs pointed to Auger-Aliassime’s pre-match comments as evidence of the mental hurdle he faced. Asked about his winning record over Sinner, the Canadian appeared to downplay the statistic. Although Auger-Aliassime dominated the rivalry at one point, going 3-0 up, Sinner has clawed back, winning their two meetings this year in Cincinnati and at the US Open.
“Even in the pre-match interview, someone brought up the fact that he had a winning record over Jannik,” Stubbs said. “He’s like, ‘Well, you know, that was a lot of years ago.’ No, dude, you should be like, ‘Yeah, I do.’”
How Did Felix Auger-Aliassime React to His Heartbreaking Loss?
Despite the result, Auger-Aliassime left the US Open with plenty to be proud of. Within half an hour of his four-set semifinal defeat, he had already reframed the disappointment, declaring he had “no regrets.”
“I had no regrets,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I played my way. I played my game. You kind of live and die with your choices, you know?”
This performance was a significant turnaround from just three weeks earlier at the Cincinnati Open, where he had been outclassed by Jannik Sinner 6-0, 6-2. Facing the same opponent again on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Auger-Aliassime pushed the world No. 1 much harder, eventually falling 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“In Cincinnati, we hadn’t played in years, and it was like I was caught by surprise,” he recalled. “We hadn’t practiced once in three years. So there was one thing to watch a guy, but to be on the court with him, the way he was returning, how fast he was playing, it just caught me off guard.”
This time, however, the Canadian settled in quickly and matched Sinner for long stretches of the match. “We were fighting out there. We had some good points. I was going toe to toe at times, in some sets dominating,” he said.
Beyond the tennis, Auger-Aliassime credited his belief and conviction, the very mindset he insisted would keep him in contention at the sport’s highest level moving forward.
