Alcaraz in the 2026 season must still be wary of unexpected upsets from opponents.

At the 2026 Australian Open, world number one and Spain’s versatile fighter Alcaraz pursued his second career Grand Slam. In the semifinals, carrying a right thigh adductor injury, he fought through five intense sets, setting the Australian Open semifinal record at 5 hours and 27 minutes, to narrowly overcome Germany’s Zverev. In the final, facing the ten-time Australian Open champion and Serbian star Djokovic, Alcaraz rebounded after losing the first set, winning the next three to complete a comeback victory over the 24-time Grand Slam champion, claiming his first Australian Open title. This brought Alcaraz’s total Grand Slam titles to seven, completing his career Grand Slam achievement. At 22 years and 272 days old, he became the youngest player since the Open Era began in 1968 to win seven Grand Slam titles and the youngest ever to complete a career Grand Slam.

Today, Alcaraz stands alone at the top, dominating his rivals; full of vigor and at the peak of his career. Nevertheless, in the 2026 season, he must learn from past lessons and remain cautious of potential upsets by opponents.

Looking back, in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Alcaraz secured four Grand Slam titles and four Masters titles, demonstrating formidable and terrifying dominance. However, he still suffered multiple defeats, including shocking early exits in some tournaments.

In the 2024 season, Alcaraz’s record was 54 wins and 13 losses. Apart from acceptable defeats to Germany’s Zverev (quarterfinals at the Australian Open and ATP Turin Finals group stage), Bulgaria’s veteran Dimitrov (Miami Masters quarterfinals), Russia’s Rublev (Madrid Masters quarterfinals), Serbia’s Djokovic (Paris Olympics men’s singles final), and Norway’s Ruud (Turin ATP Finals group stage), there were seven matches where Alcaraz was unexpectedly upset by lower-ranked players, surprising many.

In the 2025 season, Alcaraz recorded 71 wins and 9 losses. Besides losses to Serbia’s Djokovic (Australian Open quarterfinals), Britain’s young talent Draper (Indian Wells Masters semifinals), Denmark’s Rune (ATP 500 Barcelona final), Italy’s rising star Sinner (Wimbledon final and ATP Turin Finals final), and American Fritz (Laver Cup), he also suffered three shocking upsets that caught everyone off guard.

Reviewing Alcaraz’s seven unexpected losses in 2024 and three shocking defeats in 2025, there are roughly three main reasons.

First, after repeated victories and frequent successes, Alcaraz grew complacent towards lower-ranked opponents, not giving them enough respect, resulting in insufficient pre-match analysis and a lack of targeted preparation.

Second, during matches, when he suddenly found these lower-ranked players difficult to handle and even fell behind unexpectedly, Alcaraz became tense and flustered, failing to find timely and effective countermeasures, leading to passive play and eventual defeat.

Third, some lower-ranked players performed exceptionally well beyond expectations, making it difficult even for a strong player like Alcaraz to respond, leaving him helpless. Examples include Chilean gunner Jarry in the 2024 ATP 250 Buenos Aires semifinals; Britain’s young star Draper in the ATP 500 Queen’s Club second round; Dutch powerhouse Van de Zandschulp in the US Open second round; Czech sharpshooter Machac in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals; and Czech fighter Lehecka in the 2025 ATP 500 Doha quarterfinals.

Learning from past mistakes is a valuable lesson. After achieving brilliance at the Australian Open, Alcaraz’s start to the 2026 season was perfect! However, the road ahead is long and full of challenges, so in the 2026 season, Alcaraz must remain vigilant against unexpected upsets by opponents.

(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Qicai Doufen)