Five of the best sporting moments in a remarkable 2025
Singapore enjoyed plenty of success in football and at the Sea Games; McIlroy is now a career Grand Slam champion golfer after triumph at Masters
[SINGAPORE] In the blink of an eye, Christmas and the end of another year are upon us once again. Sports fans in Singapore and around the world have much to be thankful for in 2025, for the sporting gods delivered more memorable moments than one could reasonably count.
There were fresh records galore in sports like tennis, football, golf and swimming, and stories of individual and team triumphs that will be remembered and retold for decades. There are far too many to mention, but here – in no particular order – are five standout moments from a quite spectacular year in sport.
Alcaraz-Sinner continue remarkable rivalry
If there’s one sure thing in tennis these days, it’s that either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz will feature in the final of a Grand Slam.
In fact, in 2025, they squared off in three of the four men’s Majors – Alcaraz defeated the Italian to win both the French Open and US Open, while Sinner overcame the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final and he also claimed the Australian Open crown with a win over Alexander Zverev.
The pair finished the season strong as Alcaraz ended the year as the world No 1 player, with Sinner taking the ATP Finals title. Alcaraz is just 22 years old and Sinner is only two years his senior, so we will probably see many more Grand Slam showdowns between these two superstars.
Gold rush for Singapore at Sea Games
The 33rd Sea Games in Thailand wraps up this weekend and it’s been quite a ride for Team Singapore with 51 gold medals as at Friday (Dec 19) afternoon.
The feel-good story involves 14-year-old swimmer Julia Yeo, unknown to many a week ago but is now the talk of the town after an unexpected appearance in the 4x100 metre medley relay final – she was brought on after a teammate’s injury 20 minutes from the start – saw her winning a gold medal.
Olympic bronze medalist Max Maeder – still a teenager at 19 – made his Sea Games debut and won the kitefoiling gold with a day of racing still to go. And on the tracks, Singapore’s athletes including sprinter Shanti Pereira and hurdler Calvin Quek scooped up three gold, three silver and three bronze medals as they felled numerous national records along the way.
PSG finally crowned kings of Europe
After 14 years and 2.3 billion euros (S$3.48 billion) spent on players since Qatari investors took over, Paris Saint-Germain finally won the trophy they craved the most – the Champions League – and they did it in some style too.
Desire Doue scored twice at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Jun 1 as PSG defeated Inter-Milan 5-0 – the most one-sided result in the competition’s history. It was a special day for captain Marquinhos (pictured), the Brazilian defender who experienced heartbreak in the 2020 defeat to Bayern Munich but was a picture of sheer joy this time as he lifted the giant trophy high.
Lions reach Asian Cup finals
For some die-hard Singapore football fans, they could barely watch the finish of the Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on Nov 18. It was simply too nerve-racking. When the final whistle blew, the Lions had done it – they sealed a 2-1 victory and made history by reaching the finals of a major tournament for the first time on merit.
Singapore are guaranteed to finish top of the group even though they have one more match, against Bangladesh at the National Stadium next March, which will hopefully be a full house of more than 50,000 supporters. With Gavin Lee now on board as the permanent coach, the preparations have already started for the Lions as they look ahead to the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
McIlroy reaches golf’s summit
The image of Rory McIlroy falling to his knees in jubilation after winning the Masters this year, and completing his career Grand Slam, was one of golf’s most emotional moments in 2025. The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland won three of the four trophies in 2014 and had to endure 11 years of disappointment to finally don the Green Jacket at the Masters.
He is now a member of one of the most exclusive clubs in the sporting world, whose members include Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
The next golfer to be added to the club could be Scottie Scheffler, who won the PGA Championship and The Open this year and now just needs the US Open to have his own career Grand Slam.
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