Carlos Alcaraz has set himself a clear goal for 2026: the title at the Australian Open. The world number one has already triumphed at Grand Slams six times, including twice each at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. However, the only missing building block to a career Grand Slam is the victory in Melbourne.
Despite his young age – he turned 22 in May – the Spaniard has long been one of the tennis elite. However, he has so far been denied his big breakthrough at the Australian Open. He reached the quarterfinals there twice, but lost to Alexander Zverev in 2024 and to Novak Djokovic in 2025.
“My goal for 2026 is Australia and the good and bad thing is that it is the first tournament of the year,” Alcaraz told COPE Murcia. “We will try to be as ready and well prepared as possible to show a good level and hopefully achieve the goal we want.”
“Only the last step was missing”
Alcaraz doesn’t believe that the tournament fundamentally doesn’t suit him. “I think I played very good tennis in Australia, I was just missing that final step to go further. I believe and hope that this year will be different.”
He will not complete any special preparation for the Grand Slam tournament. As in previous years, he forgoes official preparation tournaments. Instead, he recently played two exhibition games in the USA and will play against Jannik Sinner in South Korea on the weekend before the tournament starts.
Should Alcaraz win the title in Melbourne, he would join the exclusive circle of players who have won all four Grand Slam tournaments in the Open Era – alongside greats such as Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Worth a look
