In 2025, both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner made it into the final, at the Grand Slams, including the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Both of them are pretty young, and they can smash the ball, with their tremendous forehands and hard backhands, very flat, and spin, too.
They matched up in three Slams last year, where the Italian won the ‘25 Australian Open, and Wimbledon, while the Spaniard grabbed Roland Garros (a real classic 7-6 in the fifth) and the US Open. Even in 2024, they played each other three other at the Grand Slams in the final. They are dominating.
Are they even? Maybe, or maybe not, as Alcaraz has won 10 matches versus Sinner and he lost six contests. Without a doubt, they will go on for years, playing each other, especially when they are healthy.
It does look like they might, but Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played each other 60 times, the most ever, winning the Slams, 24 for the Serbian versus 22 Slams for the Spaniard. It will stay there actively for a long time. Alcaraz won six Grand Slams, and Sinner was won four. At the 2025 US Open, in the final, he moved all around the box, changing it a plot.
They can resume their rivalry at the ’26 Australian Open. Some other people will start in Brisbane in a couple days, which can be very hot, under the sun, yet it can be a blast, if you are playing great. But not Alcaraz and Sinner, waiting to jump it in Melbourne. They are waiting for each other.
As Alcaraz said, “My style it’s about the variety that I have in a match. I feel I can do everything on court, to be honest: slices, drop shots, topspin, flat. I just trust really much in my physical conditions. I feel like I can reach every ball, which gives me confidence and the security of making good points and being able to play with variety. Since when I was really, really young, I just got that feeling of doing everything. Just come to the net, playing from the baseline, drop shot, come to the net, slices. I had to work on that just not to make too many mistakes on the matches, so I just been working on that.”
Sinner has evolved a lot over the past three years. He is much more fit, and better at running, serving and net play.
“I know him. So it’s been so many matches against him,” the Spaniard said. “He watch a lot of my matches just to study my game. I do the same. First of all, because I love watching him play. I think it is unbelievable what he’s doing. Secondly, it’s because I love to study him, how he plays, how he feel on the tournaments just to if I played him in that tournament, just to have feedback how he’s been playing in the tournaments.”
At the end at the 2025 ATP Finals in Italy indoors, Sinner beat Alcaraz, 7-6, 7-5. Pretty close, yet Sinner punched it into the corners.
Will anyone else go seriously deep into the final at the 2026 Aussie Open? Perhaps.
Who else will have a shot in Melbourne?
One of these: Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Alex De Minaur, Ben Shelton, Matteo Berrettini and Daniil Medvedev. Even though he is aging, Djokovic has won 10 titles and is always a factor. The Russian Medvedev won a Slam at the ‘21 US Open, but after that, no one took it, except Alcaraz and Sinner.