(Melbourne) They have triumphed at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the United States Open, but never in Melbourne: Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek return to the Australian Open on Sunday in search of the only Grand Slam title still missing from their record.

Winning the first Grand Slam of the season is “my main goal this season,” the 22-year-old Spaniard said on Friday.

Winning the four major world tennis tournaments would be “incredible” in itself, but achieving it at just 22 years old would be “even better,” Alcaraz insisted at a press conference.

Author of an exceptional season in 2025 (eight titles), the Spaniard will be particularly scrutinized after parting ways in mid-December to the general surprise of his trainer Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“I would have liked to be able to continue” with Alcaraz, said Ferrero, under whose leadership “Carlitos” won his six Grand Slam titles.

“We closed this chapter by mutual agreement,” replied Alcaraz on Friday in Melbourne, ensuring good relations with Ferrero.

Now coached only by Samuel Lopez, who joined his team at the end of 2024, Alcaraz has not played any preparation tournaments for the Australian Open.

However, he will need to be at the top of his form to triumph in Melbourne, where he has never made it past the quarter-finals and where his great rival Jannik Sinner (2^e), double title holder, is waiting for him.

The Italian skipped the Davis Cup finals in November to have an extra week of preparation for the 2026 season, while Alcaraz was nursing a right leg injury.

The two ogres of the circuit, who faced each other in the final of Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the United States Open in 2025, already crossed swords on Saturday in South Korea, during a lucrative exhibition won in two sets by the 22-year-old Spaniard.

“It was a pretty relaxed match,” Sinner said. “In exhibition […] “you’re not as tense” as in an official match, the Italian clarified.

Gauff aims for regularity

Ten-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic will try once again in Melbourne to conquer a 25^e major trophy which would make him the only record holder for Grand Slam titles, ahead of Australian Margaret Court (24 titles).

Triple finalist in Melbourne, the Russian Daniil Medvedev (12^e) is also one of the contenders given his clear recovery in form in recent months, which allowed him to win the ATP 250 in Almaty in October and in Brisbane at the beginning of January.

In the women’s draw, if the world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka advances as the big favorite after having played the last three finals of the Australian Open, her runner-up Iga Swiatek (2^e) has a first opportunity this year to win the only major trophy missing from his collection.

A possible title in Melbourne would be “a dream come true”, but “I don’t wake up every morning thinking about it” either, the Pole qualified.

Finalist in three of the four Grand Slams in 2025 and winner of the last United States Open, Sabalenka started the season by winning the WTA 500 in Brisbane for the second year in a row.

But “it’s not just Iga or me,” warned the Belarusian, very comfortable on hard courts. “There is also Coco” Gauff (3^e), which deprived her of a first title at Roland-Garros in June, the Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina (5^e), the American Jessica Pegula (6^e)…

Without forgetting Amanda Anisimova (4^e), finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025.

“I am aware of the expectations, but I use them to motivate myself,” said the American.

Title holder in Melbourne, her compatriot Madison Keys anticipates that she will be “very nervous” when she takes the court. “But on the other hand, I have never been relaxed entering the court in the first round of a Grand Slam,” she put it into perspective.

Finally, for Coco Gauff, the objective will be above all to be “more regular” from one tournament to another in 2026, particularly on serve.

“I think that the more stable my level of service is, the more regular my results will become,” anticipated the double Grand Slam winner.