The Australian Open is underway in Melbourne with qualifying matches. However, next week will be when Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz resume their rivalry in the first Grand Slam of the year, when the main draw action begins and thinking that hypothetically the number one and two in the world will face each other in the final.
The Italian is seeking his third consecutive title in Melbourne, having also won in Australia in 2025 and 2024, and aims to win his fifth Grand Slam tournament in total after defeating Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
The Spaniard leads the head-to-head history against Sinner 10-6, including victories at the US Open and Roland Garros in 2025, but the first major tournament of the year has eluded him.
To all this, both Alcaraz and Sinner, number one and two in the ATP ranking, began their 2026 season.
Fifty-five days after Sinner defeated Alcaraz in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, the two met again on court in Seoul, South Korea, for the 14th Hyundai Card Super Match in an exhibition match.
It was the first appearance of the year for both players and the Spaniard won after two closely contested sets 7-5 and 7-6, in a match that took place in an atmosphere of great sportsmanship and camaraderie.
Right after the match, Alcaraz gave a short speech and expressed his desire to face Sinner in several finals this year.
The bitter rivalry that fuels the new generation of tennis on the courts and that therefore begins to generate division among the followers of each side, is actually experienced on the outside as a friendly and close relationship.
So close that for many it represents a bromancedefinition adapted from two words in English brother-romance, when two friends demonstrate their great affinity.
A closeness that was not seen at the beginning of other historical tennis rivalries such as the recent ones between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which ended up being very close, or other more explosive historical rivalries such as that between John McEnroe and Björn Borg.
Alcaraz and Sinner arrived in Australia together and did so on the same plane.
“Yes, it’s great. We both slept a lot, so we haven’t talked much, but it’s great to have both teams on the same plane, and it was a good experience,” said the Italian minutes after landing in Melbourne.
“Well, I think we motivate each other to be better, you know? I think that’s what I take away from this healthy rivalry. I think everyone needs someone who pushes them to improve, to give 100%, and I think that’s what we do, you know?, on every occasion,” were the words of Carlos Alcaraz referring to his main rival.
In the women’s division, Aryna Sabalenka, who was recently crowned in Brisbane, is the favorite to win her third Australian Open, but we cannot rule out the defending champion, Madison Keys.
The American was precisely the thorn in the side that prevented the Belarusian from winning her third consecutive title and equaling Martina Hingis’s current record of a current and unbreakable three-time championship since 1999.
Sabalenka, 27, is the favorite to win her fifth Grand Slam tournament title.
Her main rivals will probably be Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, world numbers two and three, and of course Keys.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
