Meloni celebrates Sinner’s historic success as champion prepares to compete in Rome.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner cemented his status as the dominant force in men’s tennis on Sunday by defeating Alexander Zverev to claim the Madrid Open title, becoming the first player in series history, since 1990, to win five ATP Masters 1000 titles in a row.
The world number one eased to a 6-1, 6-2 victory at Manolo Santana Stadium, becoming the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000 events since the series was founded in 1990.
The 24-year-old Italian champion needed just 58 minutes to seal the one-sided result, extending his remarkable run at the elite level.
String of success
Since retiring during his third-round clash in Shanghai last October, due to leg cramps, Sinner has lifted trophies in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
The win in Spain also makes him the first man to win all four of the Masters 1000 events that open any season.
Sinner dropped just two sets across his five title runs and did not face a single break point in the Madrid final, converting all four break points he earned.
He moved to 30-2 on the 2026 season and has now won 28 matches in a row at ATP Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Indoors in November.
New record
Previous records for consecutive Masters 1000 titles were held by Novak Djokovic, who won four in a row on three occasions, and Rafael Nadal, who did so once. Djokovic did win five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments he played between Paris 2014 and Rome 2015, but skipped Madrid that year.
The Madrid crown is Sinner’s ninth Masters 1000 title overall. He now has the chance to complete the Career Golden Masters on home soil in Rome, the only Masters 1000 title still to elude him, which would make him only the second man after Djokovic to achieve that feat.
Zverev, reflecting on his defeat, said: “I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else.”
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni offered her congratulations to Sinner on social media, hailing five consecutive Masters 1000 titles as an unprecedented achievement and crediting him with delivering “another unforgettable chapter” to Italian sport.
Photo credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com
