ATP Tour
Alcaraz eyes ATP No. 1 Club feat in Melbourne
View the list of players to win the season’s first major as World No. 1
January 30, 2026
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Carlos Alcaraz is a two-time quarter-finalist at the Australian Open.
By ATP Staff
History suggests that World No. 1s have often thrived at the Australian Open, a precedent that Carlos Alcaraz is aiming to uphold as he sits two wins from his maiden Melbourne crown and bids to become the youngest player to complete the Career Grand Slam.
Eight members of the prestigious ATP No. 1 Club have combined for 16 Australian Open titles while simultaneously holding the top spot in the PIF ATP Rankings. Alcaraz’s great rival Jannik Sinner accomplished the feat last season, the second player to do so in the past five years (Novak Djokovic, 2021).
Players To Win AO As World No. 1
Record 10-time champion Djokovic has lifted the AO trophy six times as World No. 1, the most of any player. He first completed the feat in 2012, finishing that edition with an instant classic five-hour, 53-minute final victory against Rafael Nadal. The Serbian most recently won in Melbourne as World No. 1 in 2021.
Alcaraz, 22, has reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne in each of the past two seasons. Should the Spaniard go all the way to the title, he would join Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal as the only players to be World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings at the time of their first Australian Open trophy.
Alcaraz’s lone major triumph while holding No. 1 honours came in 2023 at Wimbledon, where he outlasted Djokovic in a five-set final to end the Serbian’s 34-match winning streak at the All England Club. In 2022, Alcaraz won his maiden major title at the US Open and became World No. 1 following that victory. At age 19, Alcaraz became the youngest No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history.
Alcaraz added to his major title count in 2025, reigning victorious at Roland Garros and at the US Open, defeating Sinner in both finals. In New York, Alcaraz not only earned the champion’s trophy, but also regained the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings, ending Sinner’s 65-week debut reign.
A six-time major champion, Alcaraz holds an 16-4 match record at the Australian Open, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, entering his semi-final match against Alexander Zverev. Last year, Alcaraz fell to Djokovic in a four-set quarter-final thriller after three hours and 37 minutes.
