Australian Open 2026 recap: Alcaraz completes the career Grand Slam, Rybakina beats Sabalenka

Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina were crowned singles champions at the Australian Open in Melbourne at the start of 2026. Rybakina beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the women's final on 31 January, and Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic the following evening to complete the career Grand Slam.

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Alcaraz completes the set

The men's final on 1 February began badly for the top seed. Djokovic broke early and took the opening set 6-2. Alcaraz responded with two breaks in the second set, controlled the third, and closed out a 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 victory after three hours and two minutes on Rod Laver Arena. Djokovic saved six break points in a marathon game early in the fourth set, but was finally broken when serving at 5-6.

The title was the Spaniard's first in Melbourne and the seventh major of his career. At 22, he became the youngest man in the Open Era to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments, a mark previously held by Rafael Nadal. "I think nobody knows how hard I have been working to get this trophy," Alcaraz said, according to the ATP Tour.

For Djokovic, it was a first defeat in an Australian Open final after ten wins from ten, and his wait for a 25th major title went on.

A 38-year-old in the final

That Djokovic was in the final at all was the story of the second week. In the semi-finals he beat the two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 in four hours and nine minutes. Sinner out-hit him by 72 winners to 46, but Djokovic saved 16 of the 18 break points he faced. At 38, he became the oldest man in the Open Era to reach the Australian Open final. "I just hope that I'll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with him," he said of Alcaraz afterwards, as reported by ausopen.com.

Alcaraz's own semi-final was even longer. He beat Alexander Zverev 6-4 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-7(4) 7-5 in five hours and 27 minutes, the longest semi-final in the tournament's history. He needed treatment on his right thigh during the third set, watched Zverev level the match, and then broke the German when he served for a place in the final at 5-4 in the decider.

Rybakina turns the tables on Sabalenka

The women's final was a rematch of 2023, when Sabalenka won the title. Both players arrived without dropping a set, the first time that had happened in a major final since Serena and Venus Williams met at Wimbledon in 2008.

Rybakina, seeded fifth, took the first set 6-4 before Sabalenka levelled. The Belarusian then led 3-0 in the decider, but Rybakina won the next five games and finished the 6-4 4-6 6-4 win with an ace on her first championship point. It was her second major title, after Wimbledon in 2022, and Sabalenka's second straight defeat in a Melbourne final, in what was her fourth consecutive final there.

Rybakina had done it the hard way. She beat world No 2 Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1 in the quarter-finals, winning eight of the last nine games, then held off Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6 in the semi-finals. Sabalenka had reached the final by beating Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-3.

What it meant for the season

Melbourne set the tone for two storylines that ran through 2026. On the men's side, Alcaraz left Australia with all four majors on his record and the No 1 ranking, but a right wrist injury in April kept him out of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. He returned at the US Open in September and reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to Ben Shelton.

Rybakina's win over Sabalenka proved to be more than a one-off. The two met again in the US Open final in September, and Rybakina won 6-4 5-7 6-2 to claim her third major, establishing herself as Sabalenka's most dangerous rival on hard courts.

Djokovic, meanwhile, showed that the oldest player in the draw could still beat the best. His five-set win over Sinner remains one of the defining matches of the season.