Three Superstars Who Could Win Their First Grand Slam in 2026

The 2025 men’s Grand Slam calendar didn’t just showcase the very best tennis players in the world—it underscored who the modern greats currently are. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner seized the old guard’s baton with such authority that for twelve months, every major final felt scripted by destiny. 

The blockbuster duo split all four Grand Slam trophies down the middle, with the court’s two current best meeting in three of the year’s four Slam finals. Now, online betting sites feel that the two’s epic saga will carry over into 2026. 

Websites offering betting online in Canada currently have both Sinner and Alcaraz at the top of their betting charts to win next January’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of 2026. Currently, it’s the Italian positioned as the narrow favorite, with the popular Bodog listing him as the +150 frontrunner to extend his streak of triumphs in Melbourne to three. His Spanish rival, meanwhile, is just behind at +175. 

But what about the rest of the chasing pack? Well, with Novak Djokovic now firmly in the twilight of his career and the Sinner-Alcaraz duo scooping all the gold in the Serbian’s absence at the summit, the majority of the ATP Tour is currently without a Grand Slam victory to their name. Here are three players who we feel could change that in 2026. 

Alexander Zverev

If heartbreak builds champions, Alexander Zverev is overdue for a coronation. The Germans’ 2025 campaign was a case study in painful nearness to immortality. Heading into the year, he had already reached two Grand Slam finals, losing out to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open showpiece before losing to Alcaraz in last year’s French Open finale. This year began with a third slam final and a third defeat, this time losing to Sinner in Melbourne. 

Ranked world No. 3, Zverev pushed the needle in almost every metric: a tour-best 62% first-serve win percentage, over 5,000 ranking points, and, once more, a place among the world’s best through sheer determination. Yet once again, that first Slam proved elusive. 

Scarred by injuries, the 28-year-old hardened mentally, clawing back in matches where his resolve had previously cracked. In Miami and Rome, he made finals with ruthless consistency, serving up aces north of 220km/h and dictating baseline exchanges with a metronomic backhand. Now entering the peak of his career, Zverev’s veteran calm is beginning to match his physical gifts. If the Slam door is ever to be kicked open, Melbourne in 2026 may well be the moment. 

Andrey Rublev

Raw emotion. Relentless fire. And a forehand that echoes thunder on indoor courts—Andrey Rublev’s formula is no secret, but its full payoff has remained just out of reach. 

The Russian has never made it past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam, despite ten visits to the last eight. 2025 was unfortunately no different, but there were signs that the 28-year-old was turning a corner. Rublev gave Alcaraz all he could handle in the fourth round of Wimbledon, winning the first set before ultimately succumbing to a 3-1 defeat. That has given him a platform to build upon in 2026. 

He heads into the latter stages of the year ranked eighth in the world, with the campaign thus far a mix of bursts of brilliance amid familiar self-inflicted wounds. He bagged ATP 500 titles in Rotterdam and Dubai, and his run to the French Open quarterfinals—dispatching Zverev before colliding with Sinner—hinted at a maturing champion. 

But Rublev’s journey is as psychological as it is physical. Too often, his passion has stoked frustration at key junctures—gone are critical sets at Wimbledon. If he can tame the tempest inside, his game is custom-built for the Australian Open’s pace and bounce. A Slam is not an impossibility; in 2026, it’s a clear and present danger if Rublev channels heart and head in perfect harmony.

Jack Draper

Courtesy of a maiden Grand Slam semifinal, 2024 was the breakout year of Jack Draper. He reached the final four of the US Open, defeating Alex de Minaur on the way before being dispatched by eventual champion Sinner. In 2025, the Brit hasn’t quite managed to live up to the lofty heights many expected. 

Draper reached the fourth round at both the Australian and French Opens, but his form tailed off after a disappointing second-round defeat on home turf at Wimbledon, after Marin Čilić rolled back the years to secure the upset victory. Still, Britain’s southpaw rocket powered into the world’s top 15 and compiled 4,500 tour points, summoning a display of nerve and shot-making that left seasoned campaigners reeling. Draper’s victory at Indian Wells—stunning Rublev with a blitz of aces—was the coming-of-age moment. 

At just 24, Draper is more than youthful energy. His serve averaged 12 aces per contest in 2025, and his forehand—combining pace with wicked spin—forced top-20 foes deep behind the baseline. His movement is elastic, his mentality stubborn, and his ceiling sky-high. Home support at Wimbledon looms as a possible x-factor, but that ultimately became a burden in 2025. If he can find a way to harness that into a positive, then the Brits may well have found Andy Murray’s successor as their tennis king.