Carlos Alcaraz's 2026 season: a career Grand Slam, a lost summer and an unfinished comeback

Carlos Alcaraz heads into the final weeks of 2026 as world No. 3 with three titles, including the Australian Open that completed his career Grand Slam. His most recent match, a 7-5 7-6(4) defeat to Zizou Bergs in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on 12 October, was a reminder that his comeback from a wrist injury is still a work in progress.

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Jiri Lehecka Highlights | Tokyo 2026 final — ATP Tour · YouTube, plays on click

A perfect start: Melbourne and Doha

Alcaraz had never been past the quarter-finals of the Australian Open before January. He left Melbourne as champion, beating Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 in the final on 1 February. The title was his seventh major and made him, at 22, the youngest man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments — younger than Rafael Nadal when he completed the set.

He followed it with the Qatar Open title in Doha, and arrived at Indian Wells as two-time defending champion with a 16-0 record for the season. Daniil Medvedev ended that run in the semi-finals, winning 6-3 7-6(3) after saving two set points in the second set, according to the ATP. A third-round loss in Miami followed.

Monte-Carlo, then the wrist

On clay, Alcaraz reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where Jannik Sinner beat him 7-6(5) 6-3 in windy conditions and took back the world No. 1 ranking.

A week later the season turned. In his opening match in Barcelona against Otto Virtanen, his right wrist gave way on a return. He won that match, but withdrew from the tournament after tests on 15 April. "From today's tests, it's a slightly more serious injury than we all expected," he said, as reported by the ATP. The problem was later described as tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the tendon sheath.

What followed was the longest absence of his career so far. He missed Madrid and Rome, then Roland-Garros, where he was the two-time defending champion, and in May announced he would also skip Queen's and Wimbledon. In his absence, Alexander Zverev won Roland-Garros and Sinner won Wimbledon.

The return: New York, Turin and Tokyo

Alcaraz came back at the US Open as defending champion and won four matches before a quarter-final against Ben Shelton that finished at 3.33am, the latest finish in the tournament's history. Shelton won 6-7 6-1 6-3 1-6 7-6 in a deciding match tie-break, ending Alcaraz's 18-match winning streak at Grand Slam events, according to Sky Sports and CNN.

Despite the long layoff, the ATP confirmed on 16 September that he had qualified for the ATP Finals for a fifth consecutive season: as a Grand Slam champion guaranteed to finish inside the top 20 of the Race, he secured his place even though he was outside the top eight at the time.

After helping Team Europe win the Laver Cup, he defended his Japan Open title in Tokyo, beating Jiri Lehecka 7-6(4) 6-4 in the final on 6 October. It was his first trophy since the injury and the 27th tour-level title of his career.

Shanghai and what comes next

Shanghai was meant to bring a first Masters 1000 title of the year. Instead, the unseeded Bergs, ranked No. 39, attacked the net throughout and ended a seven-match winning streak. Alcaraz was blunt about his level. "Taking the positive things from today is really difficult," he told the ATP. The defeat, combined with Sinner ending his season with a knee problem, also confirmed Zverev as year-end No. 1.

The numbers still show an outstanding but interrupted year: one major, three titles and only five defeats — to Medvedev, Sebastian Korda, Sinner, Shelton and Bergs. His next event is the Paris Masters in November, followed by the ATP Finals in Turin from 15 to 22 November, where he was runner-up in 2025. Reports in Spain also expect him in the Spanish squad for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, which would be his first appearance for his country since 2024.