After the triumph in the Indian Wells Masters 1000 in the final against Medvedev, Jannik Sinner completed the “Sunshine Double” – the Sun’s double on American hard courts – also winning the Miami tournament, beating the Czech Lehecka in the last act. All without losing a set in 12 matches – it had never happened in the history of tennis. A feat that relaunches the South Tyrolean in the race for the top of the world rankings: Carlos Alcaraz’s No. 1 (a position that the Spaniard has held continuously since last November 10th) will already be in danger in Monte Carlo, the first major event of the clay season which will culminate in Roland Garros. Let’s find out together who has completed the back-to-back overseas in the past and try to understand why the Sunshine Double is so complicated.
Sunshine Double: how many have succeeded
Starting from 1990, the year of the introduction of the Masters 1000 category, only eight tennis players have managed to complete the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells plus Miami) in the same year for a total of 12 times: only Roger Federer (the last to achieve it before Sinner) and Novak Djokovic (able to do it for three consecutive years in the three-year period 2014-16) have achieved it on more than one occasion – three Swiss, four Serbian. Jannik Sinner became the second No. 2 to do the Coast to Coast double in 34 years after Michael Chang, all the others got it in their pocket as No. 1.
As for the women’s, five tennis players have completed the Sunshine Double (Steffi Graff, Kim Clijsters, Vika Azarenka, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka), the only one to do it twice was the first in 1994 and 1996. Four times the American “Double” occurred in the same year in both the men’s and women’s (1994, 2005, 2016 and this year).
Why is it so difficult to win Indian Wells and Miami back to back
“Completing the Sunshine Double is perhaps more difficult than winning a Grand Slam title. A Major is just a tournament, even if it is played in a best of five sets, whereas the Sunshine Double is made up of two tournaments of almost two weeks each” (Daniil Medvedev)
There are a number of reasons why completing the Sunshine Double is considered a feat in the tennis world, even more so in today’s world. First of all, these are two 12-day Masters 1000 (format introduced in the last three years) and contiguous: Sinner played the Indian Wells final on Sunday 15 March and, after a 5-hour flight, made his debut in Miami on Saturday 21, with a few days available to adapt to completely different climate and playing conditions.
In fact, it is one of the most complex passages of the season from a technical point of view. Starting right from the surface: from 2025 both American tournaments will use Laykold, the official cement of the US Open, but in Florida it is designed to be uniform and reactive, while in California it maintains a sandier composition, with more grip. The consequence is simple to observe: in the desert the ball slows down and starts to rotate (in a nutshell: it is more difficult to score), in Miami it bounces and starts again faster. The climate also influences the game: in Indian Wells it is desert, in Miami it is humid. Dry and windy air amplifies the spin, humid air makes the exchange heavier. Aces increase on average by 10-15%, a clear sign of a context more favorable to serving (Sinner scored 14 aces in the quarterfinal match he dominated against Tiafoe, for a percentage per number of points played on service of 32.6%. In his career, he had reached the maximum of 25.8%.).
Race for No. 1: Alcaraz’s reign in danger already in Monte Carlo
Thanks to the 2000 points won between Indian Wells and Miami, Sinner returns to Europe (where the clay season begins today) 1190 points away from first place in the rankings held by Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard’s reign will therefore be in danger already at the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, scheduled from 4 to 12 April. In the Principality the South Tyrolean will have zero points to defend against his rival’s 1,000. In short, the two dominators of world tennis will start the tournament with only 190 points of difference and a real possibility of overtaking Sinner. Here’s how:
- if Monte Carlo wins (regardless of Alcaraz’s result);
- he reaches at least the semi-final and from then on he plays one more round than the Spaniard.
