Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have defined the ATP Tour over the past three seasons, establishing themselves as the two leading figures in men’s tennis. Their dominance was underscored before Alexander Zverev’s Roland Garros win earlier this year, when the pair had collected the previous nine Grand Slam titles between them.

Sinner’s Wimbledon title in July marked his fifth major during that span, while Alcaraz also owns five since winning Roland Garros in 2024. Both players have still managed to separate themselves from the rest of the field, even though injuries have interrupted their rivalry in 2026.

Alcaraz was sidelined by a wrist injury that kept him out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Sinner has been dealing with a knee injury, which has prevented him from appearing at the US Open.

Even with those absences, the Italian and the Spaniard remain the most decorated active players in men’s tennis aside from Novak Djokovic’s remarkable Grand Slam record. Many observers find it difficult to choose between them, but Juan Martin del Potro has made his preference clear.

Speaking to ESPN Spain, the 2009 US Open champion said: “For me, Alcaraz, he’s the most complete player. He has a freshness in his game that maybe lets him do things Sinner doesn’t. He’s very talented, can vary the pace in every way, and has every shot. I’m a big fan of him.”

Alcaraz has had a chance to make the most of Sinner’s absence in New York, although fitness concerns have also affected his own campaign. He returned to action in the first round of the US Open after four and a half months away, beating Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. That result sent him into a second-round meeting with Jaime Faria and gave him a 25th US Open win.

The world No 3 has also benefited from several early exits in his section of the draw, with Novak Djokovic, Arthur Fils, and Cameron Norrie all losing in the first round.

If Alcaraz wins the US Open, it would be his eighth Grand Slam title and leave him three ahead of Sinner. Their next meeting will have to wait, as both have chosen different tournaments after the US Open. Sinner is set to defend his title at the China Open in Beijing, while Alcaraz will defend his own at the Japan Open in Tokyo.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have defined men’s tennis across 2024 and 2025, yet the 2026 season has not given them enough chances to extend that rivalry on court.

The two leading players in the game have met only once this year, in the Monte Carlo Masters final. The Australian Open was the only Grand Slam both entered in 2026.

Alcaraz was sidelined from Roland Garros and Wimbledon because of a wrist injury. When he returned at the US Open, Sinner withdrew with a knee injury.

That pattern has prompted close attention to the ATP Tour, and Marion Bartoli has offered her view on why injuries have become such a concern this season.

Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, the former Wimbledon champion said: “The problem is the surfaces are getting slower and slower, but the balls are extremely heavy.

“I understand that point of view, of course, but you have to take into consideration the health of the players, because without players, you have no tour.

“Whether they make the surface faster or they make the ball lighter, but one has to come back to what it was before, because at some point, if we keep losing Sinner, Alcaraz, and the rest of the field, I mean, we don’t have much to talk about.”

Before 2026, both players were rarely absent and they shared the last eight Grand Slams evenly across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

In 2025, they met six times. Their clashes included finals at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, along with meetings in the title matches at the Italian Open, the Cincinnati Open, and the ATP Finals.

Alcaraz ended that season with four wins, while Sinner had two. Their battles were a central force in the men’s game.

Sinner is now expected back at the China Open at the end of September, while Alcaraz has again chosen the Japan Open at the same time. The next realistic chance for the pair to meet on the ATP Tour is the Shanghai Masters, scheduled from October 5th to October 18th.

Novak Djokovic’s difficult 2026 run deepened at the US Open, where he suffered a first-round defeat in a Grand Slam for the first time since 2006. In New York, the Serbian went down in a five-set contest against Mariano Navone, a result that also made it three straight losses dating back to his Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner in July.

The setback followed another early exit at the Cincinnati Open, and it has pushed fresh attention toward what comes next for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Djokovic has declined to discuss retirement and has long indicated that he does not plan to hang up his racket before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but speculation around the end of his career continues to grow.

Boris Becker, who coached Djokovic from 2013 to 2016, offered his view on the situation in an interview with Sporteurope.tv. The former world No 1 said: “This can’t go on – it pains me deeply. He’s too big a superstar for that, so he’ll be thinking very carefully about what the future holds.

“He needs to think about the future. I have an idea, but I won’t say it on air; I’ll think about it a bit more. Eventually, it all comes to an end, and then the question is, where does one take that next step?” continued Becker.

Djokovic’s schedule still includes several events before the season ends. He is entered for the China Open at the end of September, a tournament he has not played since 2015, when he lifted the ATP 500 title. He has won the event six times and remains unbeaten in the Chinese capital, holding a 29-0 record ahead of the 2026 edition.

He will be joined in Beijing by Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The tournament starts on September 30 and runs until October 11, with Sinner as the defending champion after beating Learner Tien in last year’s final.

Djokovic is also scheduled to appear at the Six Kings Slam in October, and he has suggested he may play the Hellenic Championships in November after winning the inaugural event in Athens last year.