After lifting the U.S. Open trophy for the second time in his career on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz has a new goal on his mind: completing a Career Grand Slam.
In a battle of the world’s top two players, Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the final in New York, clinching his overall sixth Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz, 22, is just the third player in the Open Era to win multiple men’s singles titles at the U.S. Open before turning 23, after John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
But the Spaniard is hungry for more. His “first goal”, as he has said, is to win the Australian Open and complete the career Grand Slam – the term used to refer to the accomplishment of winning each of the four major championships during a player’s career.
So far, Alcaraz has won two titles each at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the French Open. His best record at the Australian Open has been quarterfinal finishes in 2024 and 2025.
“When I just go to the preseason to [see]
what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, Australian Open is there,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s the first or second tournament of the year, and it is always the main goal for me to complete a Career Grand Slam, Calendar Grand Slam. So it’s going to be great.”
Only eight men’s players, including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi, have completed the Career Grand Slam.
‘Consistent’ Alcaraz Back As World No. 1
With his victory over Sinner, Alcaraz also regained the world No. 1 ranking from the Italian. He is now back on top of the rankings for the first time since September 2023.
“Since I got the chance to recover the No. 1, it was one of the first goals that I had during the season, just to try to recover the No. 1 as soon as possible or end the year as the No. 1,” Alcaraz said.
The Spaniard added that achieving the No. 1 again felt like a “dream” and doing it on the same day as winning another major title made things even better.
“It’s everything I’m working for, and I’m really happy to be able to live these experiences,” he explained.
Sunday’s win at Flushing Meadows capped a terrific run by Alcaraz in New York. The 22-year-old lost a set only once during the tournament – against Sinner in the final – and dropped serve just three times.
Alcaraz believed it was best tournament he has played in his career so far.
“The consistency of my level during the whole tournament has been really, really high, which I’m really proud of, because it’s something that I’ve been working on, to be really consistent,” he added.
