Former world No 2 predicts dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will end in 2026
Former world No 2 Alex Corretja has made a bold prediction ahead of the first Grand Slam of 2026, as he stated his belief that the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the top of men’s tennis will end this season.
Alcaraz and Sinner have shared the last eight Grand Slam titles between them and they have opened up a huge gap on the rest of men’s tennis by taking their game to the next level.
Yet Corretja does not believe their era of dominance will have longevity, as he told Tennis365 that the two giants of the men’s game will be knocked off their perch.
Speaking to Tennis365 before he joins the TNT Sports team at the Australian Open in Melbourne, former French Open finalist Corretja offered up his vision for this year that not many would agree with.
“I think this year we are going to have surprises,” Corretja told Tennis365.
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“I don’t think it’s going to be a walk in the park for Carlos and Jannik this year. I don’t think it is going to be easy for them to win two and two in the Slams. I think we could have a different winner this year.
“We have some guys like [Lorenzo] Musetti knocking on the door and I think he will have his chances. I’m waiting for Jack Draper to cone back as I think he has a game that will be very difficult for the opponents.
“Ben Shelton the same if he can get the momentum in Australia and [Alexander] Bublik is also looking a lot more mature, more stable.
“It makes it more interesting if we have more players. I would never say it could get boring, but more players challenging is good.
“It is good for the game that we have this Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry. In the past, we had Borg and McEnroe, then Edberg and Becker and Sampras and Agassi. Then it was Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
“Now we have these two, but it is good for the spectators that they believe we have guys who can beat them. Best of five sets is always tricky because the longer the matches go, it would be great to have some other players that they are capable of beating them.”
That verdict is at odds with many observers of the game, with former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash convinced Alcaraz and Sinner will retain their place at the top of the men’s game this year.
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“It’s a two-horse race and I don’t necessarily think it’s a healthy thing,” Cash told Tennis365 in his role as an ambassador for the Bank of China Hong Kong Open.
“We want to see those great finals between them and the French Open final set the bench so high that everyone wants to see that. We all want another five-set thriller with points being won from all angles, but that’s not going to happen all the time.
“So it is very much a two-horse race and if one of them has a bad day and gets knocked out, the tournament officials are going to be worried. They are all hoping Alcaraz and Sinner get to the final and do what they did at the French Open last year all over again.
“They are holding their breath that these two guys get through and that’s not necessarily a healthy thing.
“Whether this is good for tennis or not, I don’t see it changing and I would expect them to win the Grand Slams again this year.”
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