Jannik Sinner ‘set to achieve the ultimate feat in tennis in 2026’ amid Carlos Alcaraz decline

Kevin Palmer 28 Dec 2025 2:30 PM

Jannik Sinner greets Carlos Alcaraz after ATP Finals win

The 2026 tennis season is about to dawn and the pieces of the jigsaw may be falling into place for the first calendar Grand Slam we have seen since 1988.

German legend Steffi Graf was the last player to win all four major titles in the same season and she made her glorious 12 months even more memorable by adding an Olympic gold medal to her collection to complete the perfect year.

The last time a male player won all four Grand Slams in the same season was back in 1969, as Australian legend Rod Laver dominated the sport in a manner that cemented his legacy as one of the game’s true legends.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all won three Grand Slam titles in the same year over the course of their remarkable careers, but the presence of the three most successful players in the history of men’s tennis all playing at the same time helped to ensure they did not complete the clean sweep of majors.

It was Djokovic who came closest to the calendar Grand Slam in 2021, as he won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon before losing the US Open final against Daniil Medvedev in New York, as the pressure of completing the ultimate tennis achievement caught up with him on the final leg of the journey.

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A new era has now started in men’s tennis, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner winning the last eight Grand Slam titles between them and the duo will be eyeing up the prospect of more major glory in 2026.

If their dominance continues, Alcaraz and Sinner may be eyeing up the prospect of winning all four majors in one year and for one of the ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis, opportunity may knock in the upcoming season.

Such has been the dominance of the players at the top of the rankings that if either of them suffers a dip in form, the door will open for the potential of the ultimate dominance for the other.

With Alcaraz confirming his shock split with his long-time coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero in the days before Christmas, the tennis world is waiting to see what impact that has on the young Spaniard.

It would be surprising if the coaching split does not have an impact on Alcaraz and that may affect his hopes of winning his first Australian Open title next month and completing his set of all four Grand Slams in Melbourne.

Sinner has looked unbeatable at the opening major of the year and has won it with plenty to spare in 2024 and 2025, so he will be the firm favourite to continue that invincible run next month.

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Winning the French Open for the first time may be Sinner’s biggest challenge, as Alcaraz is at home on a surface that reduces some of the weapons that make his big rival so tough to beat on hard courts.

Yet he was a point away from beating Alcaraz in their epic final at Roland Garros last year and Sinner was dominant as the two met once again in the Wimbledon final a few weeks later.

Alcaraz got his revenge for that defeat when he turned in a dynamic performance in his US Open final win against Sinner, but there has to be a chance that a slightly diluted version of Alcaraz could drop a level without Ferrero’s guidance in his corner.

Alcaraz finished the 2025 season nursing injury problems, but he still opted to play lucrative exhibition events in the off-season, with Sinner focusing his attention on more considered preparations for a new year that will offer huge opportunities for the player currently sitting at No 2 in the ATP Rankings.

With uncertainty hovering over Alcaraz’s fitness and coaching set-up, Sinner will be the player to beat in 2026 and he gets off to a flier by winning a third successive Australian Open title, the the calendar Grand Slam may quickly become a target on his horizon.