Alcaraz, Sinner set to elevate rivalry, Sabalenka chasing more grand slams in 2026 tennis season
The new season gets under way on Friday with the mixed-teams United Cup in Perth and Sydney, featuring Iga Swiatek and Alexander Zverev
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are expected to continue their world domination in 2026, starting at the Australian Open, while Aryna Sabalenka is bubbling with confidence as she chases further grand slam success.
The new season gets under way on Friday with the mixed-teams United Cup in Perth and Sydney, headlined by women’s world No 2 Iga Swiatek and men’s world No 3 Alexander Zverev.
In Hong Kong, Coleman Wong Chak-lam will be joined by his fellow National Games medallists Wu Yibing and Jerry Shang Juncheng at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open from January 4 to 11.
World No 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, Kazakhstan’s No 11-ranked Alexander Bublik, No 16 Andrey Rublev and two-time grand slam singles quarter-finalist No 17 Karen Khachanov will also compete at the Hong Kong Open.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is pursuing a third Melbourne Park trophy, starts at the Brisbane International from January 4 to 11 in a stellar field also boasting Australian Open champion Madison Keys and fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova.
Alcaraz and Sinner, or “Sincaraz” as they have been dubbed, play an exhibition in South Korea on January 10 in their only warm-up before the Australian Open eight days later.