Alcaraz’s Melbourne triumph an historic ticket into very exclusive tennis club

Melbourne will mean so much more than just another slam victory to Carlos Alcaraz, mainly because his 2026 Australian Open championship means he has now become the youngest male player to claim a career Grand Slam in the history of the game.

With his four-set victory on Sunday evening, Alcaraz becomes just the sixth man to complete the career slam in the Open era after Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, and Rod Laver.

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The Spanish star, who turns 23 in May, completed the momentous tennis achievement earlier in his playing career than American Don Budge, who has held the men’s record for some 88 years. Then-young Budge, who also netted a calendar Grand Slam when he played, won Roland Garros in Paris all the way back in 1938 to round out his set of major tennis titles.

Australian superstar Laver was the first to earn a career grand slam in the Open era, claiming the title at the same time as he wrapped up his first calendar Slam in a record-breaking ’69 season that will forever hold a place in history.

All men’s career grand slams

• Fred Perry, completed at 1935 French Championships
• Don Budge, at 1938 French Championships
• Rod Laver, at 1962 U.S. National Championships
• Roy Emerson, at 1964 Wimbledon
• Andre Agassi, at 1999 French Open
• Roger Federer, at 2009 French Open
• Rafael Nadal, at 2010 US Open
• Novak Djokovic, at 2016 French Open
• Carlos Alcaraz, at 2026 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal, who was in attendance at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, had been the youngest male player to earn the achievement in the Open era before Alcaraz’s entry into the illustrious group this week. Nadal won Roland Garros in 2005, Wimbledon in 2008, the Australian Open in 2009, then rounded out his glorious trophy cabinet with a U.S. victory in 2010.

For Alcaraz, a historic entry into the calendar slam club or not, it’s a “dream come true.”

“It’s a great feeling. Completing a Career Grand Slam was something that was on my mind,” he admitted.

“Every time that I come here to Australia, I just have preseason with my mind on this tournament to try to work as hard as I can and to be as well-prepared as I can, to play this tournament and try to get the trophy.

“In the previous years, I haven’t gone in a good way,” he continued.

“But, I am really very happy I just pushed myself to be better and finally came this year.”

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“It was a different preseason for me, so I just had to come back from an unusual situation for me, which was difficult,” said Alcaraz, who had never made it beyond the final eight players in Melbourne before.

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“A lot of people were talking about everything and having doubts about my level in this tournament. Every year that I came… to Australia, I was thinking about getting the trophy. It didn’t happen. Couldn’t go further than the quarter-finals. This year, I was hungry for more, ambitious for getting the trophy and being strong mentally enough, not hearing anything or any words.

“Playing good tennis in this tournament means a lot, means the world to me.

And his conclusion was emphatic: “It is a dream come true for me.”