Who can challenge the top two in men’s tennis?

That run ended in Paris in June, and the pair won only two of the four Grand Slam titles in 2026. For anyone looking to place a bet on the next major, this season has shown who is closest to breaking their hold.

How the 2026 majors played out

Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the Australian Open final in January to complete the career Grand Slam. A right wrist injury picked up at the Barcelona Open in April then kept him out of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Sinner lost in the second round in Paris to world No. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1. He retained his Wimbledon title in July but withdrew from the US Open with a right knee injury.

Alexander Zverev

Zverev was the one who took advantage. He beat Flavio Cobolli in five sets in the Roland Garros final for his first major, after losing his three previous major finals. He lost the Wimbledon final to Sinner, then beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to win the US Open. The ATP says he is only the fourth man in the Open era to win his first two majors in the same season.

At 29, Zverev is not part of the next wave, and both his titles came in events where Sinner was absent or out early. He is still the only man other than Sinner and Alcaraz to win a major since the start of 2024, and he is world No. 2 in the ATP rankings of 21 September. Sinner leads on 11,500 points, 1,810 ahead of Zverev, while Alcaraz is third on 5,560 after missing two majors.

Ben Shelton and Flavio Cobolli

Shelton is the only player to beat Alcaraz at a major this year. Their US Open quarter-final finished at 3:33am, the latest finish in the tournament’s history, with Shelton winning 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7). He had lost all 17 of his previous matches against top three players.

The 23-year-old went on to reach his first major final and is now world No. 4.

Flavio Cobolli, 24, beat Learner Tien and Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to the Roland Garros final. He then reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals and is world No. 7.

Arthur Fery

Great Britain’s Arthur Fery had the breakthrough of the summer. He entered Wimbledon ranked 114th and reached the semi-finals as a wildcard, beating Cobolli in the quarter-finals. Zverev ended his run 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4, but the 23-year-old rose to a career-high No. 36 and replaced Cameron Norrie as British No. 1.

The players aged 21 and under

Rafael Jodar was 19 when he reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals on his debut there. The ATP says only five other men have done that since 2000, including Rafael Nadal and Sinner. Jodar had won the Marrakech title and led the tour with 19 clay-court match wins, then lost to Zverev 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3. Now 20, he is world No. 14.

Jakub Mensik, 21, reached the Roland Garros semi-finals. He beat Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca before losing to Zverev in four sets. Fonseca had knocked out Djokovic and Casper Ruud earlier in the tournament.

Tien beat Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 at the Australian Open to become the youngest quarter-finalist there since Nick Kyrgios in 2015. The 20-year-old is world No. 13.