Australian Open 2026: Tennis stars hoping to break the Grand Slam Glass Ceiling
Talented stars such as Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will be desperate to break the glass ceiling in major tennis tournaments over the next 12 months, as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz remain favourites.
Félix Auger-Aliassime, Australian Open 2024 | © Zuma / PsNewz
The Australian Open will dominate the early part of the 2026 season, laying the foundations for what promises to be another stellar year for tennis.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have starred in the Grand Slams over the past two years, splitting the eight prestigious titles on offer between them.
Talented stars such as Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will be desperate to break the glass ceiling in major tennis tournaments over the next 12 months.
However, the size of the task he faces can be evidenced by the outright betting market for the Australian Open, which ranks him as an 81.00 shot to win the title.
Several of the best tennis betting sites in Canada have taken wagers on the world number five, and his odds could be trimmed before the tournament starts.
Auger-Aliassime is one of several players who harbour genuine ambitions of knocking Sinner and Alcaraz off their perch this season.
Taylor Frtiz and Alex de Minaur are just behind the Canadian in the world rankings and will be hoping to make their mark in Melbourne.
With that in mind, read on as we look at how Sinner and Alcaraz are dominating tennis, before assessing whether anyone can challenge them.
The Sinner-Alcaraz Stranglehold
The top two players in the world will go into the Australian Open knowing they have a huge chance of winning another Grand Slam title.
Sinner has won back-to-back Australian Opens and will back himself to make it three in a row in Melbourne. He has also won Wimbledon and the United States Open in the last two years.
Alcaraz has also claimed the latter two titles in the same timeframe along with the French Open on two occasions. In simple terms, the pair have been unstoppable.
Both players have established a new era of dominance in men’s tennis, splitting Grand Slam titles and alternating the world number one ranking.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last eight major tournaments between them and have rightly been branded the new ‘Big Two’ of the sport.
Auger-Aliassime Looking to Complete Unfinished Business in Melbourne
Auger-Aliassime is heading to Melbourne as the most in-form player outside of the top two.
The Canadian struggled to find his feet earlier in the year, but won 24 out of 31 matches once he hit his stride and climbed to a career-high fifth place in the world rankings.
He kicked off that remarkable run with a Cincinnati Masters quarter-final, then semi-finals at the US Open and Shanghai Masters.
Auger-Aliassime subsequently won the Brussels title, reached the Paris Masters final and the semi-final at the year-end championships in Turin.
He has beaten nearly everyone in the top ten, including De Minaur, Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev. One of his standout performances was against Serbia star Novak Djokovic.
He held his own against one of the greatest players of all time, which proves that he has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with anyone.
He has beaten Sinner twice and Alcaraz three times, and also pushed them hard in many of the games he lost. Auger-Aliassime could be troublesome at the Australian Open.
De Minaur and Fritz Eager to Continue Progressing
De Minaur has made a name for himself with his ability to make life uncomfortable for opponents, but he is yet to work out how to beat Alcaraz or Sinner.
The Australian has been defeated on 18 occasions combined by the pair, yet he still believes he will eventually break his duck.
De Minaur plans to be more aggressive, as he was in the ATP Finals. He believes it is the best decision in his relentless bid to snap his winless record against the top two.
Fritz is heading to Melbourne at the peak of his powers. He reached the Wimbledon semi-final and held his own against both Alcaraz and Djokovic. The Australian Open will give the US star a chance to gauge just how far he is from the top two.
While it will be extremely difficult to stop either Sinner or Alcaraz from getting their hands on another Grand Slam title, it is not impossible.
