Why is Sinner's serve poor at the 2025 US Open?

In addition to Alcaraz's excellence, Sinner's decline in serving skills is said to be one of the main reasons leading to the loss in the 2025 US Open final in the early morning of September 8. Why did Sinner have such difficulty with serving skills?

Sinner's first serve was quite poor in the 2025 US Open final - Photo: REUTERS

Jannik Sinner's defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 US Open final was no ordinary loss.

Experts are dissecting this match and pointing to one of the main reasons being the unexpected decline in the Italian player's serving skills. Sinner's serves became less powerful and less impactful, causing him to lose his advantage against the Spaniard. Why is that?

According to an in-depth analysis from an Italian television channel, the cause stems from strategic changes in Sinner's serving technique, although this may negatively impact his short-term performance.

Analysis has highlighted three key differences in Sinner's serve at the 2025 US Open compared to 2024.

First, it's worth mentioning that Sinner has changed his pace, immediately shifting his body weight backward when preparing to serve, instead of taking it slowly like in 2024.

Next, Sinner actively adjusted his wrist and racket grip: his wrist no longer rotated and bent as much. Instead, his grip was held straighter and closer to his body.

An Italian broadcaster compared the difference in Sinner's serving between the last two years - Video : Social Media X

Finally, the Italian player adjusted her landing posture to be straighter and more stable, no longer leaning to the left as before.

These adjustments were not easy. Sinner repeatedly changed his serving stance, from a "pin-point stance" (back foot moving close to the front foot) to a "platform stance" (back foot remaining in the same position) and then back to the original. This constant change prevented his body from adapting, causing instability in his movement and reducing the effectiveness of his serves.

Although these changes directly contributed to Sinner's failure at the US Open, experts still consider it a bold and necessary decision. In the long run, once Sinner has fully adapted, these adjustments are expected to help him become a more well-rounded and unpredictable player.

Following his 1-3 defeat to Alcaraz in the 2025 US Open final, Sinner also lost his world number one ranking to Alcaraz.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-sinner-giao-bong-kem-tai-us-open-2025-20250908143216447.htm