By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Photo credit: Antoine Couvercelle/ROLEX
The Happy Slam is a historic target for Carlos Alcaraz.
Empowered by the best season of his career this year, the top-ranked Alcaraz shared his No. 1 goal for next year: Win a maiden Australian Open and make history as the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz, who withdrew from the Davis Cup Final 8 today due to the right leg injury he suffered falling to Jannik Sinner, 7-6(4), 7-5 in Sunday’s ATP Final title match, met the media in a Zoom call today. Alcaraz, promoting Racquet at the Rock exhibition vs. Frances Tiafoe at Newark’s Prudential Center on December 7th, shared his 2026 mission statement: Dethrone two-time champion Sinner and win the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
“Absolutely, it is a really good goal for me to complete the calendar Grand Slam,” Alcaraz told the media in today’s Zoom call. “Having that record to be the youngest player to complete it is going to be a really good achievement and accomplishment to myself. So I’m really looking forward to it in 2026.”
Six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz is a champion for all surfaces making history as the youngest man to capture Grand Slam championships on the three major surfaces: hard court (2022 and 2025 US Open), grass (2023-2024 Wimbledon) and his native surface red clay at Roland Garros (2024-2025).
The worst position in tennis right now is trailing Jannik Sinner in a major match. Frontrunner Sinner squashes even elites when he’s up in the score. Yet Alcaraz can play even bolder and shine even brighter when he’s down. The Spanish shotmaker showed it all fighting off three championship points to break Sinner’s heart in the Roland Garros final epic for the ages in June.
The question is: Can Alcaraz, whose best Australian Open results are back-to-back quarterfinal finishes in 2024-2025, defuse Sinner at the Italian’s best Slam in Melbourne?
Alcaraz suggests lack of a tune-up tournament Down Under has hurt his Happy Slam quest in the past.
“It could be a great record to be honest. I’m really looking forward to winning Australia one day,” Alcaraz said. “I’m really excited about it. That’s the good point of it—it’s the first Grand Slam.
“I start the season playing straight away a Grand Slam which could be tricky with no rhythm at all, not competition rhythm, lets say. But I’m gonna have a great pre season to get ready.
“Obviously, having that record of being the youngest to complete the career Grand Slam is something that sticks in my mind.”
Fifteen years ago, Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz’s tennis hero and Olympic doubles partner, won the 2010 US Open to complete the career Grand Slam at the age of 24. Roger Federer, Alcaraz’s stylistic inspiration, was 27 years old when he defeated Robin Soderling in the 2009 Roland Garros final to win his first French Open and complete the career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz, who fell to Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic in a four-set AO quarterfinal last January, won a career-best eight titles in 2025 and says he’s a better—and smarter—player now than he was at the start of this season.
“A few losses I haven’t played my best tennis at the beginning of the season then I realized what I have to do on and off the court,” Alcaraz said. “Then after that, from Monte-Carlo through the end of the year, it’s been my best year, my best tennis I ever played. I’m really happy with how I handled everything the pressure…
“I learned how to see the situations much better on the court. Mentally, I am stronger and I think for me that is the most important thing. That I became really stronger from the losses and when I felt really really bad. That’s the moment I’m really proud of and that’s what I take from this year.”
