At the US Open, 2 Finalists Make Rolex History

Jannik Sinner at the US Open in 2025. (Rolex)

When Jannik Sinner joined the Rolex Family in 2020, the 18-year-old Italian had never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam. Carlos Alcaraz, signed at the same age two years later, had not gone beyond the third.

Now, the two will meet in the U.S. Open final on Sunday, their third final of a Grand Slam tournament in just three months and their fifth championship final of 2025. No pair of Rolex ambassadors has ever faced each other this often in a single season.

Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros in 2025. (Rolex)

The game on Sunday highlights Rolex’s knack for spotting talent. The brand has backed young champions, including Roger Federer and Iga Świątek, well before they reached the top. By signing Sinner and Alcaraz early, Rolex positioned itself at the center of tennis’s most compelling new rivalry.

Much of that vision comes from Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex’s global communications director and a former ATP pro. Since joining Rolex two decades ago, he has made crucial partnership calls, including bringing Federer back in 2006 after a brief departure. If Rolex’s image and reputation are its greatest assets, then hiring Boetsch may have been Rolex’s real ace.

After Federer Era, Rolex Pins Hopes on Sinner

(Photo credit: Instagram/@janniksin)

Rolex’s tennis roster is enjoying a strong season, collecting multiple Grand Slam wins. Italy’s Jannik Sinner, now world No. 1, took Wimbledon over fellow Rolex Testimonee Carlos Alcaraz. On the women’s side, Iga Świątek claimed the trophy wearing a Rolex Datejust, underscoring the brand’s reach at the top of the sport.

For Rolex, Sinner is the prize. At 24, he offers discipline on court and approachability off it, qualities the brand has leaned on since Roger Federer retired. Rolex recently devoted a 10-minute film to him in its documentary series on company ambassadors.

In New York for the U.S. Open, Sinner has become a regular at Osteria Delbianco, an Italian restaurant in Midtown. He was spotted there this week wearing a Rolex Daytona; it was a Submariner the year before. Such visibility matters: unlike Leonardo DiCaprio who rarely wears the product in public, Sinner does; he has been wearing the Daytona since his win at the Australian Open, in Jan. 2025. With youth, marketability and major wins, he represents Rolex’s best chance at a Federer-like successor.

Jannik Sinner at Osteria Delbianco in New York in Aug. 2025. (Photo credit: Instagram/@osteriadelbianco)

Rolex Readies Launch of New Tennis Promotional Video

A month before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year is slated to begin, Rolex has uploaded to YouTube its new Australian Open promotional video for 2025. The clip is still unlisted on the platform but can be accessed directly at this address.

“Start the season under the bright Australian sun, a fresh challenge for a coveted trophy,” says the voiceover in the 30-second clip.

The clip ends with a fast slideshow of all Rolex Testimonees that have won the Australian tournament, from Rod Laver to Jannik Sinner. Sinner is wearing a Submariner, reference 116610LN, while lifting the trophy.

A blue-dial Datejust appears in the outro alongside the Rolex logo, the second consecutive year the brand has featured this model for the tournament. In the 2022 and 2023 editions of the AO, the featured Rolex was a blue Oyster Perpetual.

With Jannik Sinner, Rolex May Have Found Its Next Federer

(Credit: @janniksin/Instagram)

After Jannik Sinner’s win in the Davis Cup on Sunday, it's hard to overstate what a year the 23-year-old Rolex brand ambassador from South Tyrol — the German-speaking region of Italy that borders Switzerland and Austria — has had.

Sinner, who was signed by Rolex at the age of 18, has become the first tennis player ever to win two Slams, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup in the same season. No one previously had ever managed to achieve this milestone, not even Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.

When Sinner reached the No. 1 ATP spot in June, Federer advised him to enjoy the view from the top. For Rolex, the ultimate goal of sponsorship is not just to find a winner — it sponsors more athletes in tennis than in any other sport — but to find someone who will embody the brand's values for a lifetime: a Federer, a Jack Nicklaus, a Jackie Stewart.

Speaking on “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Roddick said, “He is the most relaxed person I've ever seen beside of Roger [Federer] before a Slam final. It feels like he has this very quiet confidence.”

Earlier this year, Sinner faced allegations of doping after he tested positive for traces of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol — less than a billionth of a gram — on March 10 in Indian Wells, Calif., and again on March 18. Initially, he was suspended from tennis, but the suspension was later overturned on appeal.

Sinner may have reached the top ranking less than six months ago, but already he looks untouchable. With 11,800 ATP points, he has 4,000 more than the next two players.

Rolex Reaches Tennis Summit Again

(Photo credit: Rolex & Jannik Sinner’s Instagram)

Jannik Sinner, a 22-year-old brand ambassador for Rolex, has become the No. 1-ranked tennis player in the world dethroning Novak Djokovic who has held that spot for 428 weeks in his career.

Sinner, the first Italian to become No. 1 in tennis, was wearing a two-tone Rolex GMT-Master II on Tuesday, when he was awarded the ATP World No. 1 trophy by the association.

Rolex holds both top spots in tennis now that Sinner and female player Iga Świątek are ranked first. Rolex has been recruiting players increasingly young, as these pages reported, sometimes in their teens. When Sinner was signed by Rolex, in early 2020, the 18-year-old Italian had never reached past the second tour of any Grand Slam tournament.

Rolex's position at the peak of tennis seems secure, at least for a while, as the No. 2 spots for both men and women — Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff — are also Rolex Testimonees in their early twenties.