At 22 years and 272 days old, Alcaraz completed his grand slam collection by winning his first title in Melbourne, becoming the youngest male player in history to achieve this feat. The previous record belonged to Don Budge, who was 22 years and 363 days old in 1938.

Carlos Alcaraz dropped his racket and lay on his back on the court after winning the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the evening of 2/1. Photo: Reuters

The 2026 Australian Open title also makes the Spanish player the ninth person in men's tennis history to complete a career grand slam, and the sixth in the Open Era, following Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

Before this year, the Australian Open was the only missing piece in Alcaraz's career. The world number one had previously won two French Open titles (2024, 2025), two Wimbledon titles (2023, 2024), and two US Open titles (2022, 2025). His victory on the evening of 1/2 elevates Alcaraz's grand slam count to 7, also making him the youngest player in the Open Era to reach this milestone, surpassing Borg, who won his seventh major title when he was almost 23 years old.

In the final, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic with a score of 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 after almost 4 hours of play on Rod Laver Arena. Djokovic, 38 years old, was aiming for his 11th Australian Open title and 25th grand slam title of his career but could not overcome Alcaraz's youth and talent. This marks Alcaraz's third victory over Djokovic in a grand slam final, following two consecutive wins at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz's journey to the championship at the 2026 Australian Open also features other notable statistics. The Spanish player endured a semifinal match lasting 5 hours 27 minutes against Alexander Zverev, his longest grand slam match to date. His win over Djokovic also makes Alcaraz the second Spanish player to win the Australian Open, after Rafael Nadal in 2009 and 2022.

In the Open Era, Alcaraz completed his grand slam collection significantly earlier than previous legends. Roger Federer reached this milestone at 27 years and 303 days old, Rafael Nadal at 24 years and 102 days old, and Djokovic at 29 years and 15 days old. Alcaraz achieved it after only 20 main draw appearances at grand slam tournaments.

Alcaraz also increased his career major titles to 15. This statistic includes grand slam titles, ATP Finals, Masters 1000, and Olympic men's singles gold medals. With 15 major titles from 56 tournaments played, Alcaraz has an average of one major title every 3,7 tournaments, ranking only behind Djokovic (3,3) and Nadal (3,5) in men's tennis history.

Among male players with the most grand slam titles in the Open Era, Alcaraz is ranked seventh, alongside John McEnroe and Mats Wilander. He has now surpassed Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who concluded their careers with six grand slam titles.

Alcaraz also extended his grand slam head-to-head record against rival Sinner to 7-4. The 24-year-old Italian player only needs to win the French Open to complete his grand slam collection, similar to Alcaraz. The next grand slam event is indeed the French Open, scheduled from 18/5 to 9/6.

Hoang An (according to ATP)