Alcaraz, Sinner, Swiatek going for history in…

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For the second straight year at the Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz has a chance to become the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam. But the 22-year-old isn’t the lone player in 2026 trying to achieve the major set (and not even the only one in Melbourne).

Let’s take a look at the candidates trying to secure the only Grand Slam missing from their collection this season.

Carlos Alcaraz

Missing Slam: Australian Open
Best showing: Quarter-final (2024, 2025)

Alcaraz’s off-season couldn’t have been much more eventful. He added a tattoo of the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge in the aftermath of his second US Open title.

If that wasn’t a surprise, though, cutting ties with coach and former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero sure was. If he loses early in Melbourne (or badly), expect many to question the decision, even though Alcaraz still has the experienced Samuel Lopez by his side.

The coaching change didn’t alter Alcaraz’s pre-Aussie Open schedule, as the Spaniard once again bypassed a warmup tournament — last playing one in 2021.

His quarter-final loss last year to Novak Djokovic (who also returns to Melbourne without a former No. 1 as coach, Andy Murray), didn’t lack drama. Dealing with an injured GOAT contender opponent who was forced to change tactics, Alcaraz waned.

“It's just about when (you’re) seeing someone that is struggling physically a little bit, it's kind of you not playing the same level,” Alcaraz said afterwards. “It seems like, ‘Okay, it's going to be easier.’ At the same time in your mind you're thinking, like, ‘Okay, I have to not make mistakes.’ Probably you're not hitting the ball at the same way that you're hitting before.”

With more experience under his belt, Alcaraz would probably react differently if the same thing happened this time.

Iga Swiatek

Missing Slam: Australian Open
Best showing: Semifinal (2022, 2025)

“Tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself,” Swiatek said after winning Wimbledon last July.

They weren’t token words uttered by the Pole. After all, Swiatek had only reached the second week at SW19 once in her five previous visits. Her heavy workload on the clay coming in certainly played a part in the past as Swiatek looked to make the transition to grass.

It all came together for the 24-year-old, though, and in a not-surprising way. Swiatek only dropped one set en route to the final, where she then handed Amanda Anisimova a 6-0, 6-0 loss as the Swiatek bakery went into overdrive.

Six months earlier, her foray to the semifinals at the Australian Open was even more emphatic. Swiatek conceded a mere 14 games in five matches and led Madison Keys by a set in the final four. But after Keys saved a match point — with a hard return — and rallied from 7-5 down in the match tiebreak, Swiatek departed.

Buoyed by the Wimbledon title, Swiatek must feel like winning the Australian Open wouldn’t be as much of a surprise, despite the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff (who now has her number after picking up another win at the United Cup), Anisimova — who won their rematch at the US Open — and Keys in her way.

Jannik Sinner

Missing Slam: French Open
Best showing: Runner-Up (2025)

The French Open has befuddled some of the best in the game who’ve tried to complete the career Slam. Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker all missed out at Roland-Garros. But then again, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Djokovic all completed their set in Paris.

It seems unfathomable that Sinner won’t ever win the French Open, given his age (24) and impressive attributes.

Looking back at his French Open history, his first two exits were predictable. Both times he faced the greatest clay courter in history, Rafael Nadal. But since then, Sinner’s losses on the famed terre battue have been agonizing (and hardly predictable). Sinner led Andrey Rublev by a set in the fourth round in 2022 but had to retire in the third set because of a knee injury. The next year, Sinner failed to capitalize on a 2-1 lead in sets and two match points against Daniel Altmaier in a five-and-a-half hour marathon. Another two-sets-to-one lead came and went against Alcaraz in the 2024 semifinals.

All that, however, paled in comparison to the 2025 finale against Alcaraz, when three straight match points vanished and Sinner couldn’t serve out the final in the fourth set.

The positive news for the Italian is that he probably won’t ever suffer a more disappointing loss. And if anyone needed proof of his mental toughness, Sinner bounced back a month later and beat Alcaraz for a maiden Wimbledon crown.

They’ve already faced off this year…at an exhibition in South Korea.

One more player can complete the career Slam in 2026: Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon. If it happens, call it one of the greatest sporting achievements ever. The Swiss is 40, currently 139th in the rankings, and playing in his final season. Wawrinka — who has never won a grass court title — last made a Wimbledon quarter-final in 2015.

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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak