Carlos Alcaraz: The legend in the making who outpaced his idols to conquer Melbourne
By completing his Career Grand Slam at just 22, Carlos Alcaraz has moved from a generational talent to a historic anomaly, establishing a benchmark of early dominance that forces the tennis world to redefine the limits of his potential.
Carlos Alcaraz, Australian Open 2026 | © AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/SIPA Press
History was not just made on Sunday night; it was conquered. In the early hours of Monday in Melbourne, the 22-year-old world number one and top seed Carlos Alcaraz sat as the youngest man to ever complete the Career Grand Slam.
By defeating the number four seed and 10-time champion Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5, Alcaraz surpassed the age records of legends like Don Budge and Rafael Nadal. The victory marked his seventh Grand Slam title and his first at the Australian Open, a journey he had visualized long before the first ball was struck.
“It’s a great feeling”, he said during the last press conference of the tournament. “Completing a career Grand Slam was something that was on my mind. Every time that I come here to Australia, I just made the preseason just with my mind into trying to get the trophy. In the previous years I haven’t gone a good way, but I really happy that I just push myself to be better and finally came this year.”
“I know I’m doing history with some trophies, some tournaments, some achievement that I’ve been getting. For me it’s an honor to put my name on the history books”, Alcaraz added. With the first major of 2026 secured, the conversation inevitably turns to the possibility of a Calendar Year Grand Slam – a feat that would see Alcaraz sweep all four majors in a single season, something even Novak Djokovic failed to get in 2021, never done since Rod Laver in 1969.
Calendar Slam? Those are big words, to be honest.
At this stage the 22-year-old remains grounded. He choses to focus on the next one, the red clay of Paris where he is the double defending champion, rather than the weight of a quadruple crown. “Well, it’s going to be a big challenge. Those are big words, to be honest. One at a time. Right now next one is French Open. I have great memories in that tournament. I feel really special every time that I go there. So I don’t want to put myself in a really pressure position to have to do it, but you know, it’s going to be great. Right now I will try to be ready, to just recover and practice well to play a good tournament in the next Grand Slam.”
This victory was particularly significant as Alcaraz’s first major triumph without longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero present. With Samuel Lopez leading his box, the young star was determined to prove that his discipline was self-sustaining. Alcaraz echoed this self-reliance when addressing the outside noise.
“Well, not really, to be honest”, he answered when he was asked if he wanted to prove that he could perform without Ferrero. “I didn’t think about those people that had doubts about it. I came here just playing for myself, playing for my team. We all know how hard I worked in the preseason to be ready for this tournament, and I had too many things to think about. Just focus on my game style, focus on myself, being passion, and that’s all I thought about during this tournament. Once I get it, I just happy to prove all the people were wrong.”
Ambition beyond the Career Grand Slam and future history
Even after conquering every surface the sport has to offer, Alcaraz’s hunger for more is undiminished. He remains focused on what’s still to be conquered this season. “Well, I hate lose (smiling), so that’s my motivation. Trying to lose as less as I can. Yeah, there are some tournaments that I really wanted to win at least once. A few Masters 1000 I just really wanted Obviously the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup. The Davis Cup, it is a goal as well. I really wanted to achieve that for my country, Spain. I set up some other goals for the season, and I will try to be ready for, or to try to get those goals.”
Alcaraz has already conquered six of the nine Masters 1000 events – including Miami (2022), Indian Wells (2023, 2024), Madrid (2022, 2023), and a dominant 2025 sweep of Monte-Carlo, Rome, and Cincinnati – leaving only Canada, Shanghai, and Paris-Bercy as the final three hurdles to completing the historic “Golden Masters.”
Alcaraz noted that he is still trying to fully grasp the weight of putting his name in the history books alongside the greatest to ever play. “I’m trying (smiling). I’m trying. I’m going to say that tennis is really beautiful, but what the bad part of tennis, it is we have tournaments week after week after week, and sometimes you don’t realize what you’ve been doing lately. What I’ve learned this year is about appreciate and enjoy every single second of the moment you’re living. Not only lifting the trophies, but playing tournaments, playing tennis, getting victories, getting loses. Whatever it is, just enjoy and appreciate the life you’re living. So right now I’m just trying to have a time to realize what I’ve been doing.”
Commemorating the Melbourne victory with a kangaroo
The celebration for this historic feat will be marked in his now-signature way: with fresh ink to match the trophy. The young champion, who already sports tattoos for his previous major wins, has already planned out his tribute to the Australian hard courts. “I’ve said it’s going to be a kangaroo, for sure, a little kangaroo. I don’t know where it’s going to be. It’s going to be in the leg, for sure. I don’t know the right, the left one. So I got to choose a good spot, but it’s going to be for sure close to the French Open or Wimbledon. I just have to choose (smiling).” With his 7th major in hand and the Career Grand Slam complete at age 22, Alcaraz has officially ushered in a new era of tennis dominance.
