Sinner beats Alcaraz to retain ATP Finals title
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What’s to come in tennis in 2026?The 2025 season saw Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner rule the ATP Tour, while Aryna Sabalenka finished as No. 1 on the WTA Tour after winning the US Open.The new season starts with the Australian Open, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, as players battle to win the first Grand Slam of the year.
But what are the storylines, and who are the players, to look out for in 2026?
Djokovic’s Slam quest
It’s been over two years now since Novak Djokovic last won a Grand Slam title and his chances of breaking Margaret Court’s all-time record look slimmer than ever.
Djokovic himself has admitted that it will be “very difficult” for him to topple Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner over five sets.
“They’re just too good, playing on a really high level,” said Djokovic after losing to Alcaraz at the US Open.
Is there still a chance for Djokovic to win No. 25 in 2026?
Maybe. But it might require a dream draw and for either (or ideally both) Alcaraz or Sinner to not make the latter stages.
Who’s the closest challenger to top two?The ATP rankings show the enormous gap between the top two and the rest.
At the top of the rankings sit Alcaraz and Sinner on 12,050 points and 11,050 points, then come the rest, led by Alexander Zverev on 5,160 points.
It’s not easy to confidently pick out a player who could break the Alcaraz-Sinner duopoly in 2026.
Ben Shelton had a decent Grand Slam season, making the semis at the Australian Open and quarter-finals at Wimbledon, but is 0-3 against Alcaraz and has lost his last seven against Sinner.
Felix Auger-Aliassime finished the campaign in excellent form and rose to No. 5 in the world, but was 0-4 against Sinner in 2025 and has lost five in a row against Alcaraz.
Jack Draper could be one to watch if he stays injury free and builds on his strong first half of 2025, which saw him beat Alcaraz on his way to winning Indian Wells.
Best bits: Alcaraz wows New York to beat Sinner and claim second US Open title
Video credit: TNT Sports
Sinner v Alcaraz: Who has the edge?
Never in the Open era have two players split the Grand Slams for three seasons in a row.
That could happen in 2026 if Sinner and Alcaraz both take two each again.
We’ve already discussed who else might win a Slam, but who starts 2026 as the top dog between Sinner and Alcaraz?
Alcaraz starts the new year as world No. 1, but Sinner had the last word in 2025 with victory in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals. Their head-to-head matches in 2025 finished 4-2 in Alcaraz’s favour, including two wins in their three Grand Slam final meetings.
It looks set up for a thrilling tussle for supremacy again.
The return of RybakinaElena Rybakina re-established herself as a force on the WTA Tour with victory at the season-ending WTA Finals, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the final.
The 2025 season was largely a disappointing one for the former Wimbledon champion, but she found form at the end with 11 straight victories.
Her serve looked excellent in Riyadh and is still arguably the best on tour, while she has the power game to match and beat the best.
She could be a dangerous opponent at the Australian Open.
Raducanu’s progress
Although the 2025 season finished on a negative note for Emma Raducanu as she cut it short due to injuries, there were positives to move forward with.
She played 50 matches – a career high – and had some strong results that saw her get back into the top 30 in the world, high enough for a seeded spot at the Australian Open.
That she is sticking with coach Francisco Roig into 2026 also appears to be a good sign.
Raducanu showed exactly how good she can be over the summer when she pushed world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka very close at Wimbledon and in Cincinnati. But can she move up to another level next year?
Will there be a new women’s No. 1?
Either Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek have been WTA No. 1 since Ashleigh Barty retired in early 2022.
Coco Gauff came closest to breaking that run in 2025 as she got to No. 2 in the rankings and was in the mix for No. 1 ahead of the US Open.
The season, though, finished with Sabalenka and Swiatek as the top two.
Gauff fell back after losing points from her 2024 WTA Finals victory but has plenty of chance to make up ground early in 2026 – in Qatar and Dubai she lost in the second round in 2025 and at Indian Wells and Miami she was beaten in the fourth round.
Right now she looks the most likely to contend to be the next No. 1.Â
Gauff’s best shots from 2025 French Open
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Fonseca’s riseThe loud hype around Joao Fonseca quietened a bit in the middle of 2025, but then he went and won his first ATP 500 title and was labelled the “next Novak Djokovic” by his beaten opponent in the final.
Fonseca still has a long way to go until he competes with the best game, but a rise from No. 145 at the start of the year to No. 24 at the finish shows he is making good progress.
Will he continue trending upwards in 2026?
Kyrgios comebackNick Kyrgios revealed recently that he has a “new lease of life” after getting a “miracle” injury boost on his journey back to full fitness.
The former Wimbledon runner-up has hardly played in the last three years due to a string of knee and wrist injuries, managing just five matches in 2025, one of which he won.
But could there still be more to come from the big-serving Australian?
Nick Kyrgios
Image credit: Getty Images
Will Osaka continue to climb?
The summer move of replacing Patrick Mouratoglou with Tomasz Wiktorowski as her coach appeared to pay off for Naomi Osaka.
She made the final in Montreal – her biggest since returning to the tour as a mum at the start of 2024 – and then reached the semis at the US Open – her first major semi since winning the Australian Open in 2021.
Even in defeat at the US Open, Osaka was upbeat about the future.
“Honestly, it’s kind of inspiring for me because it makes me just want to train and try to get better, and hopefully just give it my very best shot again and see what happens. But I think I can’t be mad or upset at myself.”
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