Jannik Sinner can reach another milestone in 2026. © ANSA / NEIL HALL
At the age of 24, Jannik Sinner is already looking forward to a picture-perfect career. In 2026, the superstar from South Tyrol will face a significant milestone – but Carlos Alcaraz could beat him to it.
December 31, 2025
From: never
What more could you actually want? In the past twelve months, Jannik Sinner has broken many an impressive mark: the Sesto native became the second player in history to win the ATP Finals twice in a row without losing a set, and he was the first player since Roger Federer (2004-2006) to have a win rate of more than 90 percent in two consecutive years. Last but not least, he became the youngest professional in history to reach the finals of all Grand Slam tournaments in one season. His titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon – both historic and epic.
On this high, Sinner also experienced how even small things can have the biggest impact: The drama in the final of the French Open, in which he missed three match points against Carlos Alcaraz, is now well known. Looking back, those bitter moments in Paris separate the South Tyrolean from a remarkable milestone – the career Grand Slam. So far in the Open Era, only Andre Agassi (1999), Roger Federer (2009), Rafael Nadal (2010) and Novak Djokovic (2016) have managed to win all four major tournaments in the course of a career.
Sinner dreams – and what does Alcaraz do?
Sinner already has the Australian Open (2024, 2025), Wimbledon (2025) and the US Open (2024) in his pocket, so he could already pull off a really big coup at the French Open 2026. In any case, the number two in the world has her own fate in her own hands. But will Sinner get ahead of his arch-rival? As luck would have it, Alcaraz is also aiming for the career Grand Slam in the new year and already has his “match point” at the Australian Open (January 12th to February 1st).
Carlos Alcaraz faces Jannik Sinner in another competition. © APA/afp / HENRY NICHOLLS
The world number one from Murcia has won the French Open (2024, 2025), Wimbledon (2023, 2024) and the US Open (2022, 2025) twice each. Only in Melbourne has he never made it past the quarter-finals. “The Australian Open is definitely my biggest goal,” said the Spaniard, who recently made headlines because of his separation from coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, on the attack.
Who will conquer the rival’s kingdom?
Explosive: In order to get the missing piece of the puzzle in their palmarès, Sinner and Alcaraz each have to conquer their rival’s kingdom. The Grand Slam champion from Pustertal, for example, celebrated only four of his 25 titles on the ATP tour on clay, while his Spanish competitor won almost half of his 24 career titles on the red surface. On the other hand, Sinner is considered almost invincible on hard courts: in 2025, his record there was 39:2, and 227:52 over his entire career. The two-time triumphant has been unbeaten in Australia since January 2023, while Alcaraz in Roland-Garros has been unbeaten since June 2023.
Jannik Sinner is a force on hard courts. © AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO
At the Australian Open, the two would only meet in the final at the earliest due to their placements in the world rankings. A scenario that has occurred three times in the past year.
