Carlos Alcaraz used media day at the 2026 Australian Open to talk about a small but notable modification to his serve and to frame it as part of an ongoing process of refinement.

The world No. 1, in his first major outing since his split from coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, smiled when asked about the new motion.

“You wanted to say it’s really similar to Djokovic serve?” he joked. “I know you want to!”

Practice footage circulated before the tournament made the similarity obvious to observers. Alcaraz said the likeness was coincidental and emphasized that the adjustment is one of many tiny changes he makes to his game.

“I think everyone has to make changes, small details,” Alcaraz explained on Friday. “For me the serve is something that I really want to be better every year, in every tournament. I just putting constant work on the serve.

“I would say, like, for myself, I’m just making changes all the time, every tournament, every day, without someone has to tell me. Like, for example, I just changing the movement a little bit. Now with this movement on the serve, I just feel really, really comfortable, smooth, really calm and peaceful rhythm, which I think it helps me a lot to do a better serve.”

Alcaraz acknowledged that service had long been a relative weakness and noted the tangible gains from earlier tweaks. At the 2025 US Open he struck 10 aces and won over 80% of first serve points as he dethroned Jannik Sinner on hard courts last summer. He said further alterations remain possible.

“Let’s see how it’s going to be this year. Probably you’re going to see another change, I don’t know if the next months or at the end of the year. I just make constant changes in every shot. It’s just about really small details.”

Off court, the Spaniard has kept much of his routine under current head coach Marc Lopez as he pursues a Career Grand Slam. The six-time major champion acknowledged the goal and its magnitude.

“Obviously complete the career Grand Slam is something amazing to do, be able to be the youngest that have done it before, you know, is even better,” mused Alcaraz. “But three are three! Three Grand Slam are three Grand Slam. So I don’t know. It is a question that I got to think about.”

Aryna Sabalenka stands out as the draw’s dominant figure. Across the last 12 majors she has reached six finals, and since the start of 2023 she is 3-3 in Slam finals. She has been No. 1 for 65 straight weeks. In Melbourne specifically she has been both winner and runner-up: she captured the title in 2023 and 2024, and last year she lost a heartbreaker to Madison Keys in the final. Fresh off a 2025 US Open victory and an untroubled Brisbane title to open 2026, Sabalenka projects as the most likely player to reach the second week.

There are still test matches in her quarter. Emma Raducanu nearly took her in Cincinnati last summer, and Clara Tauson beat her 6-3, 6-2 in Dubai last winter. Jasmine Paolini, who would be a likely quarterfinal opponent, has lost five straight matches to Sabalenka, all in straight sets. A dark horse to watch in that area is Marta Kostyuk, who reached the Brisbane final after beating three higher seeds and shares Paolini’s section.

Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva occupy the same section and the matchup between them has felt like a future rivalry since their first meeting in 2023. Gauff leads their head-to-head 4-0. Seeds on Gauff’s side include Emma Navarro, Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova; Muchova, when healthy, is the most dangerous. Andreeva may open against Donna Vekic and could face Maria Sakkari early; Elina Svitolina, Diana Shnaider and Dayana Yastremska are notable names in her half. Venus Williams, 45, is 0-2 to start 2026 and could face Gauff if she gets past Olga Danilovic.

Three Americans, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and defending champion Madison Keys, populate the opposite half and can all realistically reach the final. Anisimova sits with Sofia Kenin, Jelena Ostapenko and Linda Noskova nearby.

Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina bookend the bottom quarter. Swiatek is chasing a career Grand Slam and has had recent forehand issues in losses to Gauff and Belinda Bencic; Naomi Osaka, Liudmila Samsonova and Anna Kalinskaya sit in her path. Rybakina closed 2025 by winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh and should handle the early rounds before a possible fourth-round clash with Bencic, who posted a 9-1 United Cup run.

Projected semifinalists: Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula, Rybakina
Projected final: Sabalenka d. Gauff; Rybakina d. Pegula

The opening Grand Slam of 2026 sets up as a clash between consistency and possibility. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have met in the last three major finals and, as they move into their mid-20s, they remain the presumptive protagonists. Still, 126 other players arrive intent on upsetting expectations.

Alcaraz has never advanced to the Australian Open semifinals. Three years ago he was injured; two years ago he lost to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals; last year he lost to Novak Djokovic, also in the quarterfinals. This season he enters his first major without long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. “When Ferrero wasn’t there, Alcaraz could look lost.” His early path is manageable on paper: a first match with No. 79 Adam Walton, a third-round possibility against Corentin Moutet or Seb Korda, Tommy Paul in the fourth round and No. 6 Alex De Minaur projected in the quarters. He is 5-0 against De Minaur. Other quarter rivals include Alexander Bublik, Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe, but none would meet him until the quarterfinals.

Alexander Zverev arrives as No. 3 in the world, a 2025 finalist at Melbourne Park with a 31-10 record there. His recent struggles complicate the picture, yet the seeds nearest him are Andrey Rublev and Cam Norrie, opponents he is 13-3 against in total. The lower half of his quarter contains No. 11 Daniil Medvedev and No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Medvedev, coming off a Brisbane title, is a three-time Australian Open finalist aiming to atone for a 2025 collapse. Auger-Aliassime reached the quarters here and finished last year in the Top 5. “If Medvedev and FAA collide in the fourth round, I’ll take Medvedev. I’ll also take him over Zverev in the quarters.”

Novak Djokovic brings a record at the tournament of 10 titles and 99-10, but at 38 he has not won a major since 2023. He reached the 2025 semifinals at all four Slams before either injury or being outmatched by Sinner or Alcaraz. He opens against Pedro Martinez and could face Brandon Nakashima in a later round; possible big servers await in the fourth. If fitness holds, he projects as the favorite to make a 13th semi. Dark horse: No. 31 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Sinner has a 14-match Australian Open winning streak dating to 2023, dropped just two sets en route to last year’s title and looks well suited to the conditions and atmosphere. He opens against No. 94 Hugo Gaston (Sinner 2-0 against him) with potential matches against Joao Fonseca and Karen Khachanov and quarter possibilities in Ben Shelton and Casper Ruud. “All of which is to say: Sinner losing before the semis would be a shock.”

Medvedev d. Alcaraz; Sinner d. Djokovic