Heroics by Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina, history made by 38-year-old Novak Djokovic and another Grand Slam final for Aryna Sabalenka. The first chapter of the 2026 tennis season is a harbinger of epic moments to come in the California desert. 

The synergy between the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open has always been intense. A pair of marquee events, functioning as the first two pillars of the tennis season, spectacles that every tennis player and fan look forward to. 

This year, the connection feels familiar. 

Flash back to 2023, when Aryna Sabalenka rallied to a stunning victory over Elena Rybakina for her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Just over a month later the pair were at it again, locking horns for a final for the ages in the California desert. 

Rybakina, who won her first Wimbledon in 2022, didn’t let her lead slip and became the sixth consecutive first-time women’s singles champion in Tennis Paradise. It was a momentous occasion for Rybakina, who had lost her first four meetings to Sabalenka, all in three sets. 

“It’s actually the first time it went my way,” Rybakina told Sabalenka on court as she addressed the crowd and referred to the pair’s previous meetings, before Sabalenka stepped up, grabbed the mic and said: “I will make sure it was the last one.”

Sabalenka’s words were hilarious, but far from a prophecy. Rybakina has continued to achieve success against her rival, and she has now won seven of their last eleven meetings after she produced a scintillating 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory in Saturday’s Australian Open women’s singles final. 

It was a stunning victory for Rybakina, who rallied from 3-0 down in the final set to return to the limelight as a two-time major champion. 

Saturday’s women’s final was special on many levels. With their heroics down under, Sabalenka and Rybakina became the fourth tandem to meet in multiple Australian Open women’s singles finals this century.  The pair could make more history in March when they take their place in this year’s loaded women’s singles draw in the California desert. Only two players have competed in multiple women’s singles finals at the BNP Paribas Open this century – Iga Swiatek vs. Maria Sakkari and Kim Clijsters vs. Lindsay Davenport. 

Will Rybakina and Sabalenka be the third?

Tennis “Titan” Alcaraz Makes History in Melbourne

In 2023 Carlos Alcaraz shared the podium with Rybakina, the high-flying Spaniard winning his first Indian Wells title with a stunning defeat of Daniil Medvedev in the final (after a colossal win over Jannik Sinner in the semifinals). 

At the time, Alcaraz had already won his first major and was about to prove that he was the furthest thing from a one-Slam wonder that had ever existed. 

Flash forward three years and Alcaraz is firmly entrenched among the game’s greats. After defeating Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s men’s singles final in Melbourne, the World No.1 is now the youngest man in history to capture the coveted Career Grand Slam.

Two-time BNP Paribas Open champion Alcaraz is the ninth man to achieve the feat of winning all four Grand Slams at least once, and the sixth man – joining Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic – to do it in the Open Era. 

The captivating Spaniard is also the youngest man in history to have won seven major titles, and the only man to do it before turning 23. 

38-year-old Djokovic, defeated in the final in Australia for the first time after a heroic run, captured the surreal quality of Alcaraz’s achievement well. 

“Bravo Carlos, little titan, young wizard of Oz,” he wrote on X. “A worthy champion, a huge talent, wonderful person and history-maker.”

Since the turn of the century only four men – Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Agassi – have won the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open in the same season. In March, we’ll be watching closely to see if Alcaraz can become the fifth.