How many Slams would Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have if Indian Wells was the fifth major

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Indian Wells is often referred to as the ‘fifth Grand Slam’, but what if it actually was?

How would the tennis landscape have changed if the Masters 1000 event in California had been upgraded to a Grand Slam event alongside the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open?

Well, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer wouldn’t have finished on 24, 22, and 20 majors.

Should there be a fifth Grand Slam?

If so, which tournament would it be?

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And world number one Carlos Alcaraz would already have a few more Grand Slams to his name…

Novak Djokovic would have won 29 Grand Slams if Indian Wells was a major

Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion and a five-time Indian Wells winner.

Add those numbers together, and he’s a 29-time major champion.

There would be no change at the top of the Grand Slam winners list, but things wouldn’t stay the same behind him.

Grand Slam leaders if Indian Wells was a major

In reality, Nadal sits second behind Djokovic with 22 Grand Slams, ahead of Federer on 20.

However, as Federer won five Indian Wells titles and Nadal only won three, they’d share second place, with 25 Slams.

Further back, Pete Sampras would jump up to 16 Grand Slams, and Jimmy Connors would move level with Bjorn Borg on 11.

And Spain’s Alcaraz would have nine majors to his name, thanks to his Indian Wells victories in 2023 and 2024.

The likelihood is that Indian Wells will remain a Masters 1000 event, but it’s still fun to think about.

But why is Indian Wells so often described as the ‘fifth Grand Slam’?

Indian Wells is one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar

The event in California is a must-watch.

Every year, the best players in men’s and women’s tennis battle it out for the Indian Wells title.

And fans enjoy every minute of it.

Indian Wells is the best-attended tournament outside of the four Grand Slam events.

It’s the second-largest tennis event in the United States, after the US Open, but ahead of the other Masters 1000 tournaments, the Miami Open and the Cincinnati Open.

The tournament’s centre court, Indian Wells Tennis Garden, is also the world’s second-largest permanent outdoor tennis stadium by capacity.

• Arthur Ashe Stadium – 23,771
• Indian Wells Tennis Garden – 16,100

With all that in mind, it’s easy to understand why Indian Wells has earned the ‘fifth Grand Slam’ label.

However, there have been a few surprise winners recently, which perhaps you wouldn’t expect to see at major tournaments…

Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper would be Grand Slam winners if Indian Wells was a major

British stars Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper have both won Indian Wells, the ‘fifth Grand Slam’.

Indian Wells men’s singles champions since 2020

Norrie beat Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the 2021 final, before Draper defeated Holger Rune in 2025.

Both wins were surprising, to say the least, even if Draper was outstanding during the early stages of the 2025 season.

Returning as the defending champion this year, few expect the Brit to retain his title.

In fact, just 2% of TalkingPoints fans have backed Draper to win Indian Wells in 2026.

TalkingPoints Indian Wells vote share

Only time will tell who will emerge victorious at Indian Wells, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

The main draw matches begin on Wednesday, March 4.