Eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors recently highlighted a potential “distraction” that he believes contributed to Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat against Jannik Sinner in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships final. This match marked the Spaniard’s first loss in a Grand Slam final and his fifth defeat to Sinner in their 13 encounters on the ATP Tour.
This year, Alcaraz entered the London Major as the two-time defending champion, claiming the title in 2023 and 2024 by triumphing over Novak Djokovic in the finals.
Jimmy Connors Highlights One Problem Which Caused Carlos Alcaraz To Lose Wimbledon Final to Jannik Sinner
Alcaraz was seeded second for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, and he defeated Fabio Fognini, qualifier Oliver Tarvet, Jan-Lennard Struff, and 14th seed Andrey Rublev in the first four rounds. In the quarterfinals, he overcame Cameron Norrie and secured his place in the final after registering a win against fifth seed Taylor Fritz in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Alcaraz started strong, winning the first set 6-4. However, Sinner made a stunning comeback, winning the next three sets to clinch the title with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
View this post on Instagram
During a recent episode of the ‘Advantage Connors’ podcast, Connors mentioned that he had seen Alcaraz hugging seven to eight members of his team before stepping onto the court for the final.
“I saw before they walked out onto the court. I think it was Alcaraz. He was getting ready to walk out onto the court, and he must have hugged seven to eight guys. They’re hugging seven to eight guys in their camp, you got this guy, that guy,” Connors said.
The 72-year-old expressed that while the World No. 2 may perceive the presence of so many team members as supportive, it might have served as a “distraction” just before such a critical match.
“Who’s going to do this? Who’s going to do that? And to the point where I would have looked at that as a distraction. They look at that now differently. They look at that now that everybody’s there for a reason, they have a purpose,” he continued.
Connors further criticized the trend of players frequently looking to their boxes for “reassurance” during matches. He argued that this practice is counterproductive, as the team cannot provide assistance once the match is underway, and players must rely on their skills and judgment to navigate the challenges on the court.
“Here’s one thing I don’t like about it: is that once you’re done on the court, you’re done in the court. Looking up to your box all the time, and it seems to me that a lot of the guys look up to their box all the time. They need that consistent pat on the back and reassurance. They are not gonna help you out there. You still have to hit the shots,” Connors added.
Looking ahead, Alcaraz will next compete at the 2025 Canadian Open, which will take place from Jul. 27 to Aug. 7, 2025, at the Sobeys Stadium in Toronto. He last competed at the tournament in 2023, where he had defeated Ben Shelton and Hubert Hurkacz, before being eliminated by Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.
