“I would trade Australia for Roland-Garros with Jannik” : Carlos Alcaraz on achieving Career Grand Slam

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will compete at the first Slam of the year, as the Spaniard looks to complete his Career Grand Slam. Carlos Alcaraz has won all Grand Slam titles, except the Australian Open, where he was often faltered in the earlier rounds.

Last year, Carlos Alcaraz was defeated in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open by Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner has won the Australian Open on two consecutive occasions, and enters the tournament as the reigning champion.

The Italian has also won all Majors barring the French Open. Jannik Sinner was so close to claiming his first French Open title last year, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set battle, which went for almost six hours, the longest in French Open history. Moreover, Sinner also held three match points in the fourth set which could have won him the championship.

Hence, the objective for both players this season will be to complete their Career Grand Slams in the first two Majors of the year. Carlos Alcaraz jokingly stated that he would happily trade one of his French Open titles for Sinner’s Australian Open title. “I would trade Australia for Roland-Garros with Jannik. I would rather trade that, to be honest,” said Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz faced off against each other in each of the last three Major finals of 2025, where the Spaniard won the French and US Open, and Sinner won the Wimbledon Championships. Jannik Sinner also defeated his rival in the finals of the Nitto ATP Final on his home turf in November last year.

Carlos Alcaraz opens his 2026 Australian Open campaign against Alex Walton on Sunday, whereas, Jannik Sinner would face Frenchman Hugo Gaston on Monday.