US Open 2026, tennis news: Alexander Zverev wins US Open, can Carlos Alcaraz chase down the Big 3, news, feature

A Grand Slam season that began with Carlos Alcaraz collapsed behind the baseline in Melbourne, crying with joy after a historic success, ended in New York on Sunday with Alexander Zverev not realising he had actually won the US Open.

The uncertainty demonstrated by the German, who has claims to being the player of the year, after ending Ben Shelton’s bid to end a couple of American droughts in the US Open final encapsulates what has been a dramatic year for the sport.

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It demonstrates, again, that there is no such thing as a certainty in sport and sharpens the appreciation for the astonishing careers of the Big Three headed by Novak Djokovic and the remarkable deeds of several legends on the women’s tour.

For while the hot topic after Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete a career grand slam by winning the Australian Open was how long it would be until he joined the Big Three in terms of major titles, the sport returned serve with venom.

By May the seven-time major winner was sidelined with a significant wrist injury and while the 23-year-old returned with distinction to stretch Shelton in a US Open quarterfinal, it highlighted the task for all to chase down the GOATs.

As brilliant as this generation are, with Alcaraz and Sinner magnificent and Zverev now a winner of two slams after a period where it seemed he might finish the best player to never win one, and Elena Rybakina standing within a Roland Garros success of completing a career grand slam after book-ending the year with majors, matching the greats is improbable.

The 24 majors won by Djokovic and Margaret Court, along with the 20-plus claimed by Serena Williams (23), Rafael Nadal (22), Steffi Graf (22) and Roger Federer (20) are benchmarks and this season served as a caution to those chasing history.

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It is going to be hard. Perhaps impossible. Of the current players, only Alcaraz and reigning Wimbledon winner Jannik Sinner stand a chance, but after two years of major domination, injury and health frailties cost them at two majors each in 2026.

The sight of Zverev holding aloft the Roland Garros and US Open champions also prompted different reactions among many.

The German is an outstanding player who, aged 29, has been rewarded for his consistent excellence and resilience.

He has rebounded brilliantly from an horrendous ankle injury suffered in a semi-final against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2022. Adding lustre to his ability to carve out a career so exceptional is that he was diagnosed with diabetes at four, with his former professional playing parents told by doctors “that life and sports will be very limited for that child”.

His career has straddled the Big Three era and also the emergence of the Alcaraz/Sinner duopoly yet he now has two grand slam titles and an Olympic gold medal, has reached finals in Melbourne and Wimbledon as well, and is a prospect of becoming the world No.1 for the first time depending on how long Sinner is sidelined given the points buffer is now less than 2000.

“We went 30 years without winning a grand slam title and now we have won two in a span of three months,” Zverev said.

“I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”

But allegations of domestic abuse against him, one of which resulted in a settled court case with a penalty notice in Germany that neither exonerated or convicted him while the other is untested in the legal arena but vehemently denied by Zverev, remain a point of concern for many.

It is anecdotal, but ticket prices for his US Open semi-final and final dipped significantly as he progressed and the wildly popular Alcaraz, conversely, was ousted in his first tournament back.

Mary Carillo, a former Roland Garros mixed doubles champion who peaked at 33 in singles before carving out a broadcasting career that saw her inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame prior to the US Open, said while commentating on his 6-3 7-6 (2) 5-7 6-2 triumph over Shelton that his presence in a major final is a reminder of the controversy.

“Zverev, in fact, got booed when he took the court. That doesn’t usually happen in a major final either. This guy continues to wear a black hat to many in the game,” she said.

“Two different women, one of whom is the mother of Zverev’s daughter, accused Zverev of domestic violence, an accusation he’s vehemently denied.

“My innocence has been proven he has said. That’s not true. ‘I was exonerated’, he said. That’s not true. And all this came up again, of course, when he won this year’s French Open.”

Meanwhile, the current evenness in women’s ranks has made for compelling tennis in recent years but ensures none among the current generation of stars will get close to the trailblazers of their gender.

Iga Swiatek leads current players with six titles, but did not win a major this year, with Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka holding four majors and Rybakina now the winner of every major bar the French Open.

A look to 2027 and beyond …

Zverev has enjoyed a brilliant season, which includes two major championships and his first appearance in a Wimbledon final. But suggestions of a new Big Three are premature given the circumstances surrounding his victories.

Alcaraz was absent from Roland Garros. Sinner was missing in New York. In Paris, the latter suffered an incredible meltdown. At the US Open, Alcaraz did incredibly well first up from a four month lay-off to reach the quarterfinals.

If the duopoly regains full fitness leading into 2027, it would be folly to suggest that they are not the players to beat given Sinner has won his last 10 outings against the German and Alcaraz four of their past five encounters.

What Zverev has done is pounce when the opportunity was apparent and that is a credit to his excellence. More chances are likely to present as well, for 2026 has shown that Alcaraz (wrist) and Sinner (knee) are human and vulnerable to injury.

Alex de Minaur, who leads Australia in a Davis Cup tie against Poland in Brisbane later this week, must be lamenting that a dip in his best form at majors after sustained excellence over more than two years occurred at exactly the wrong time.

And how tennis will be hoping Alcaraz, whose scintillating shotmaking, broad smile and charisma have made him a global superstar, can avoid further troubles with his wrist for his youth gives him a real chance of shooting for the Big 3s records.

But there are threats emerging, including Zverev. Frenchman Arthur Fils won a Masters in Cincinnati and is a gun. Jakub Mensik, too, has the power to trouble the best. Joao Fonseca carries significant hype and Learner Tien gets better and better.

Amid concerns about the number of players suffering injury issues this year, and criticism about the length of the season, a full roster would undoubtedly benefit the sport … and make the task for Alcaraz and others even tougher.

The big question mark surrounds Djokovic. He was brilliant in Melbourne when a finalist and also made a semi-final at Wimbledon. But it is now three years since his last major and his health issues are a worry. Who knows what the future brings?

Outside the baselines, there was progress on one point of discontent this season, with the players announcing on Sunday they will no longer pursue the grand slams for prize money increases after earning upgrades at all four majors this year.

But big areas of concern remain. The problem of overcrowding at the Australian Open is also the case in New York, with the USTA now headed by former Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley drawing heavy criticism for a dip in the fan experience.

It is a double-edged sword. Crowds continue to swarm all four majors, with Melbourne Park setting a new record in 2026, while the US Open drew massive attendances as well.

But tennis fans complain they barely see matches on outside courts now given the overcrowding, while prices for the stadium courts continue to rise. Officials must ponder how much is too much before a significant backlash against the events.

New Tennis Australia chief executive Andrew Abdo also drew condemnation for comments made at a conference in Melbourne last week regarding innovation with tennis. The line about purists? Ignoring a fan base in the pursuit of others is perilous.

Australian legend John Newcombe said in The Australian at the weekend that a clean up is needed at TA while considering the legacy left by Tiley and former President Jayne Hrdlicka, with some of the claims having previously been canvassed in detail.

More broadly, there was concerning reporting from England about the financial peril facing the WTA Tour, which sold part of its business to private equity in exchange for a big payday a few years back.

That is troubling development, and not just for tennis given the propensity of sports to pursue investment from venture capitalists, a topic that has been red hot in Australia over the past week given Cricket Australia’s stance on the BBL.

A word on the final and a note on a Zverev irritant …

Zverev extended the drought for American men in their own Open to 24 years with his four set triumph over the exciting Shelton, who has confirmed himself a talent capable of challenging every player on the tour.

As brilliantly as the 23-year-old had played in reaching his maiden final, which included the epic triumph over Alcaraz in a quarterfinal, logic suggested this might be a step too far form the dynamic left-hander.

As a starting point, it is unlikely he got to bed before 7am after the triumph over Alcaraz in a tournament that highlighted the absurdity of late nights in tennis once again, and then backed up to win an emotional semi-final over Francis Tiafoe.

Zverev was stretched in the infancy of his title run with consecutive five setters but settled into rhythm well and his second week was far less testing than that of his younger rival, tipped by Rod Laver four years ago as a potential major winner.

There is also the head to head dynamics at play and there is a reason Zverev is unbeaten against Shelton, who was seeking to end an American drought in New York dating back to Andy Roddick success in 2003.

The serve of Shelton, who was also seeking to become the first African-American to win a grand slam title since Arthur Ashe on the court named after the icon, is remarkable and his left-hander’s forehand can be lethal against right handers.

But the angular German has always had a supreme backhand and, with his height, is less-troubled by heavy topspin forehands directed to the wing. In fact, the reverse came to the fore in the final, with Zverev’s height enabling him to generate bounce when directing forehands to the Shelton backhand, who struggled to find penetration above the shoulder. And the dual-major winner’s serve, once susceptible to dips under pressure, has become a reliably formidable weapon as he has aged.

There is an irritation on court with Zverev, though, namely the time he takes between his first and second serves.

The number of times he bounces the ball as he composes himself frustrated both Shelton and semi-final opponent Karen Khachanov and while there is a shot clock between points, it may prompt a change with a point as well in the future.

“I definitely think, for a first serve, you should be able to do whatever you want. You can use the full 25 seconds every time,“ Shelton said.

“I think that there should be some sort of rule. I’m not sure exactly how you would do it, limiting time on second serve. You shouldn’t have unlimited time.

“For our sport, for the fans, I think it’s tough to be sitting there that long for the next play, the next action to happen. I’m sure at some point it will be something that these tournaments look at just because there is such a delay in play in some matches.”

Rybakina seizes everything Sabalenka holds dear on court …

It was a third Australian Open title Rybakina denied Sabalenka initially. On Saturday it was a hat-trick of US Open titles, with the Kazakh played out-hitting the Belarusian to win 6-4 5-7 6-2. And now she has replaced Sabalenka as world No.1 as well.

For a player who has endured a couple of difficult years with her coach Stefano Vukov suspended by the WTA Tour for a year amid concerns about his relationship with Rybakina, only to have the ban lifted on appeal, she has rebounded with brilliance.

A winner of the war-impacted Wimbledon in 2022, when Sabalenka was among the players banned from playing due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Rybakina has replaced her rival as the world’s best hard court player in a superb season.

The power of both women is extraordinary. This was a one-two punch final, with changes of pace, variety and subtlety the exception rather than an exceptional feature of the match, which is not necessarily a good thing.

But to the winner goes the spoils and the challenge for Rybakina is now to see if she can become the only current player – Serena and Venus Williams the asterisks given the uncertainty surrounding their future – to win all four majors.

The 27-year-old has reached the quarterfinals in Paris twice and can count an Italian Open among her five titles on the surface, so it is an achievement that is realistic should she manage to bring her best form to Roland Garros.

Sabalenka, who had held the No.1 ranking for 99 weeks, has some soul searching to do.

Her most recent title came in the Miami Open final in April and while she was close in Melbourne and New York, she unravelled in spectacular fashion at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, events she desperately wants to win.