Sinner breaks record with Italian Open victory

Jannik Sinner defeated Casper Ruud in the final of the Italian Open to claim his fifth title of the year, continuing his strong run of form since March. 

The world number one defeated the Norwegian 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday in front of a home crowd, completing a rare feat few can match.

Sinner’s triumph made him the first Italian man to lift the Italian Open trophy in 50 years, since Adriano Panatta’s win in 1976, and sent the Roman crowd into raptures as the noise from the stands echoed through the evening air. 

On a broader historical level, the result also confirmed Sinner as only the second man in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles, joining Novak Djokovic in that exclusive club. But while Djokovic broke the record at 31 years, the Italian did it at just 24. 

The way Sinner reached that milestone mattered just as much as the title itself. 

Before the final, he had already broken Djokovic’s record for most consecutive wins at Masters 1000 events, stretching his run to 32 straight victories across the top tier of the tour. 

En route to Rome, he had captured Monte Carlo and Madrid, and his 6–4, 6–4 win over Ruud in the Italian Open decider helped him become the first player to win three clay‑court Masters titles in a single season since Rafael Nadal.

For the season as a whole, Sinner’s numbers have been nothing short of phenomenal. He has now won 36 of his 38 matches in 2026, lifting five titles from five consecutive finals, including Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome. 

That level of consistency has strengthened his position at the top of the ATP rankings and sets him up as a prime favourite for the French Open, where he will arrive in Paris riding one of the most imposing clay‑court runs in modern tennis history.