Following the conclusion of the 2026 Australian Open, debates have sparked about who is the best tennis player in the world right now. Seeing Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the championship match, many say the Spaniard is the best, whereas others support Jannik Sinner, noting he has lost just one match at Melbourne Park since 2024.
However, it is not as simple as who won more titles or who is performing better, as Patrick Mouratoglou explains.
Patrick Mouratoglou’s Opinion on Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner Debate
Since the 2024 Australian Open, the two youngsters, world No. 1 Alcaraz and world No. 2 Sinner, have dominated men’s tennis, claiming all nine Grand Slams since then. Their rise to the top marked the end of the ‘Big Three’ dominance, with Djokovic’s last major title coming at the 2023 US Open. For the past two years, it has been all SinCaraz show, with both players splitting Slams and multiple Masters 1000 titles equally.
However, Alcaraz’s recent win at Melbourne Park again sparked conversations about the best men’s tennis player in the world right now. While many might think the world No. 1 is the best player, Mouratoglou refuses to accept this simple conclusion. In his latest Instagram reel, he stated that:
“I think we cannot say that Alcaraz is above the pack. I think we have to keep putting Jannik Sinner at the same level.” Talking about the common perception, he added, “A lot of people love to do that. One match, ‘Oh, wow, I changed my mind,’ or ‘Oh, this proved everything in one match.’ No, this is just one match, but one tournament doesn’t prove everything either. Of course, it’s a grand slam, but it is just one grand slam.”
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He acknowledged that “they shared everything: two Slams each,” while noting that “it was Sinner who won the ATP Finals.” Mouratoglou mentioned Sinner’s three-month ban and said, “If Sinner could have played three more months while he was banned, he would potentially have ended up No. 1 in the world at the end of the season.”
Comparing their dominance with the Big Three, the Frenchman added, “I think those two guys are dominating incredibly the tennis world, like the top three in the past, same way. You can compare easily: these two guys are a million miles above the pack, except Novak.”
This special Djokovic call-out was explained by Mouratoglou in a previous reel, where he said the Serbian Legend would have already won his 25th Major, but there is one thing stopping him from achieving that goal.
Understanding the SinCaraz Dominance on the ATP Tour
Last time a player not named Sinner or Alcaraz won a Grand Slam was back in 2023, when the Serbian legend clinched his 24th major title at the US Open, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the championship match. Since then, Sinner won the 2024 Australian Open, 2024 US Open, 2025 Australian Open, and 2025 Wimbledon, whereas Alcaraz won the 2024 Roland Garros, 2024 Wimbledon, 2025 Roland Garros, and 2025 US Open, splitting all the majors equally.
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This shows what Mouratoglou had to say right before ending his reel: “I think throughout 2026, they might share a lot of victories in the finals. They are dominating, those two, but I think they are very close in terms of level.”
Recently, Alcaraz completed his career Grand Slam at the age of just 22, breaking all previous records, most notably Rafael Nadal’s Open Era record. However, Sinner is just one title away from achieving this feat, which he can complete in Paris in June this year. Although he is 24 years old, it would still be an astonishing accomplishment for the Italian, becoming just the seventh person to win all four majors at least once in the Open Era.
It would be interesting to see when this SinCaraz streak ends and who emerges as the third player to win a major title in the near future.