Way-Too-Early Grand Slam predictions for 2026

The 2025 large play came to a adjacent past week successful New York, arsenic Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz claimed the US Open trophies.

It was a memorable play astatine the year's Slams. Four women took location the titles -- Madison Keys (Australian Open), Coco Gauff (French Open), Iga Swiatek (Wimbledon) and Sabalenka, and an American pistillate reached the last astatine each. On the men's side, things were much straightforward, arsenic Alcaraz (who besides won astatine the French Open) and Jannik Sinner (Australian Open and Wimbledon) divided the titles. Sinner reached the last astatine each Slam, and helium played against Alcaraz successful 3 of them.

Keys was the lone first-time champion successful 2025. Alexander Zverev was the lone antheral not named Alcaraz oregon Sinner to scope a large final.

But portion Sabalenka and Alcaraz mightiness inactive beryllium celebrating the latest hardware successful their increasing collections, and determination remains a batch of tennis to beryllium played this twelvemonth during the Asian plaything and astatine the WTA and ATP Finals, it's clip we commencement looking up to 2026. Believe it oregon not, there's lone 4 abbreviated months earlier the commencement of the main gully astatine the Australian Open.

It is simply a daunting task to marque predictions astir adjacent season's Slams -- but that won't halt america from trying. Here's who should beryllium the apical contenders astatine each of the majors successful 2026.

Australian Open

When: Jan. 18 - Feb. 1

Where: Melbourne, Australia

Defending champions: Keys and Sinner

Top women's contenders: Sabalenka, Gauff, Swiatek and Naomi Osaka

Sabalenka volition get successful Melbourne looking to reclaim the trophy and volition beryllium buoyed by her latest US Open title. A two-time champion astatine the event, Sabalenka came oh-so-close to the elusive three-peat earlier being defeated by Keys successful the last this year. She'll beryllium much than anxious to triumph her 5th Slam rubric connected her favourite aboveground and astatine 1 of her favourite tournaments.

After a pugnacious fourth-round nonaccomplishment successful New York arsenic she struggled to hole her caller serving woes, Gauff should participate the caller twelvemonth with those issues hopefully down her aft immoderate dedicated clip moving with Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics adept hired to bash conscionable that. One of the toughest to bushed connected the hard tribunal erstwhile she's astatine her best, Gauff reached the 2024 semifinals successful Melbourne and the quarterfinals this year.

Swiatek besides reminded everyone however bully she tin beryllium connected that aboveground this twelvemonth with a triumph successful Cincinnati up of the US Open and a quarterfinal tally successful New York. She is simply a two-time semifinalist, including successful 2025, and volition beryllium looking to implicit the vocation Grand Slam successful Australia.

And of course, there's Osaka. The four-time large champion, including doubly astatine the Australian Open, has been resurgent this summertime with a last tally astatine the Canadian Open and a semifinal quality successful New York. She's backmost up to No. 14 successful the rankings -- her highest showing since returning from maternity permission astatine the commencement of 2024 -- and volition effort to instrumentality her comeback adjacent further Down Under.

Best accidental for a first-time Slam champion: Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Iva Jovic

A three-time Australian Open quarterfinalist, Pegula reached the 2024 US Open last and had a semifinal tally successful New York this year. She ...