At the moment, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz look set to dominate men’s tennis for another year in 2026.
The ‘new two’ split all four Grand Slam titles between them for the second consecutive season in 2025, and have looked almost unstoppable at times.
After witnessing a golden era headlined by the ‘big three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, the sport is crying out for a third star to join Sinner and Alcaraz at the top.
There are a number of candidates in the new generation who could potentially compete with them, such as Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca and Ben Shelton.
All three, along with the rest of the field, are still far away from the level of Sinner and Alcaraz, however, which Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thinks is a hurdle they can overcome.
Patrick Mouratoglou sends warning to the current generation
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “I think the current generation of players who are playing against Alcaraz and Sinner, they will never play like them.
“Because most of them are really far from doing the same thing. I think the right way to think for them is how can I beat them, even if I cannot beat them today. How can I potentially beat them tomorrow?
“And the only way for the current generation to potentially beat Alcaraz or Sinner or both in the near future is to focus on their strengths and see also how Sinner and Alcaraz are able to exploit their weaknesses.
Who will join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a new ‘big three’?
“Because the young top 10, top 20 in the world, they have incredible qualities, but they also have weaknesses, and against those two guys, you can’t afford to have weaknesses.
“So they have to close the gap of their weaknesses and develop their strengths at the same time, to potentially have a chance to beat them in the future. And it’s not by trying to imitate them. This is not going to work.”
The closest players to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the rankings
Currently, the player closest to Sinner and Alcaraz in the rankings is world number three, Alexander Zverev.
Zverev is 28 now, though, and will likely not get any better than he already is. Nor will the man in fourth place: Djokovic.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked fifth and aged 25, is among the potential stars capable of closing the gap on Sinner and Alcaraz.
World number six Taylor Fritz, like Zverev, has likely already peaked, while ATP numbers seven and eight, Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti, may be threats to the top two going forward.
But the real favourites are nine and ten, Shelton and Draper, who are both on a very promising trajectory.
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