Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz will start the 2026 season as the world number one, although he will face a major threat from Italian Jannik Sinner, who is hot on his heels and seriously jeopardizing his leadership. The two players have shared the last eight Grand Slam titles and have a significant lead over the rest, who can only compete for third place. While Alcaraz will begin the year as the world's top-ranked player and could even extend his lead after the Australian Open, where he is only defending quarterfinals, Sinner could potentially snatch the top spot from him at the start of the clay court swing. This is because the Italian was suspended for three months last year for testing positive in a doping control, which prevented him from playing the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Madrid, allowing him to accumulate a considerable amount of points. To this must be added a factor that could be key: the split between Alcaraz and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was instrumental in his rapid rise. Although they said their goodbyes with emotional messages on social media, in recent days Ferrero gave an interview to which the Argentine News Agency had access, in which he confessed that the main problem was with Alcaraz's inner circle. The start of the season will be crucial to see how Alcaraz copes with Ferrero's absence, which will remain a complete mystery until the Spaniard competes again officially. Despite the complications Alcaraz will face to maintain his world number one status in the first part of the year, everything points to the 2026 season once again being dominated by the Spaniard and the Italian, who plan to take home all the trophies on offer, at least in the short term.
