Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek head into 2026 in search of a career Grand Slam

Carlos Alcaraz knows what matters the most to him in 2026 and isn't shy about telling the world: He wants to win the Australian Open to complete a career Grand Slam.

That would make him the ninth man in tennis history with at least one singles championship from each of the sport's four most prestigious tournaments — and, at 22 years and just under 9 months old at the event's conclusion, the youngest.

“It’s going to be my first tournament of the season, and it’s really the main goal for me," Alcaraz told The Associated Press. "I'm going to do the preseason just focused for the Australian Open — to be in really good shape for the Australian Open, physically, mentally, tennis-wise. Everything.”

When play begins on the hard courts of Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday night EST), Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, who is 24, both will be chasing the one major trophy missing from their collections.

He owns a total of six so far: two apiece from the red clay of the French Open, the grass of Wimbledon and the hard courts of the U.S. Open. So does she: four from the French Open and one each from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

“Players who have been able to complete the four of them ... adapt in different situations, different surfaces, different atmospheres,” Alcaraz said. “And that’s what a real champion does: adapting themselves wherever they play. Different cities, stadiums, in front of different crowds. That makes a real champion. That’s why I’m really looking forward to doing it.”

The youngest man with a career Slam was Don Budge, who was two days from turning 23 when he won the 1938 French Open as part of a calendar-year Slam. Maureen Connolly has the overall mark: She was 18 when she completed her full set at the 1953 French Open, one of 10 women to win all four majors.

Swiatek has come closer than Alcaraz in Australia, getting to the semifinals twice. Alcaraz has been as far as the quarterfinals, including losing to 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in 2025.

Currently No. 2 behind Aryna Sabalenka — who is a two-time Australian Open winner and was last year's runner-up to Madison Keys — Swiatek was asked which would mean more to her: winning in Melbourne or returning to the top of the rankings.

“I don’t need to choose which one is more important, which one is a priority. I’m still young. I have plenty of time to do different things and achieve different goals in my career,” came the reply. “I really don’t need to put that pressure on myself to do something in the next two weeks.”

Alcaraz, who recently split from longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, is ranked No. 1 but won't be the favorite over the coming 15 days. That's his rival, No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who won the past two Australian Opens and appeared in the last five Slam finals overall.

He won the U.S. Open in 2024 and Wimbledon in 2025, meaning the 24-year-old Sinner enters 2026 on the verge of a career Slam, too.

“We are players who are pretty complete, I’d say,” Sinner said about himself and Alcaraz. “We can change the way we play.”

No matter when a career Grand Slam arrives — at age 21 for Serena Williams, for example, or 29 for Djokovic — it is significant and truly sets tennis players apart.

“They’re obviously already so successful, they’re kind of trying to check off the boxes of even more big accomplishments. That’s a huge milestone," said Taylor Fritz, the 2024 runner-up to Sinner in New York. “At such a young age for all of them, it's even more impressive."

Sinner's missing piece? Roland-Garros, where he lost last year's final to Alcaraz after holding a trio of championship points.

“It’s definitely a motivation,” Sinner told the AP. “We will push a lot to be ready to perform my best at every tournament and be ready for the most important matches. That’s what I want.”

As serious as Alcaraz is about getting the job done in Melbourne, he also can joke about it.

“I would trade Australia for Roland-Garros with Jannik,” Alcaraz said with a hearty laugh. “I would trade that, to be honest.”

FILE - Jannik Sinner of Italy waves as he carries the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file)

FILE - Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning the women's singles quarter final match against Liudmilla Samsonova of Russia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

FILE - Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, kisses the championship trophy after defeating Jannik Sinner, of Italy, in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany's troubled economy returned to modest growth last year after two years of falling output, official figures showed, as hopes rise that government spending on bridges, rail lines and defense may help end years of stagnation.

The expansion in gross domestic product of 0.2% for 2025 was fueled by stronger consumer and government spending while exports sagged under the weight of more restrictive U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, the German Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.

That follows shrinkage of 0.5% in 2024 and 0.9% in 2023.

“Germany’s export business faced strong headwinds owing to higher U.S. tariffs, the appreciation of the euro and increased competition from China,” statistical office head Ruth Brand said in a statement accompanying the statistical release.

Expectations have risen for Germany to finally see stronger growth this year as the government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz implements plans to increase spending on infrastructure to make up for years of underinvestment. Meanwhile defense spending is rising due to a perceived higher level of threat from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Germany has endured a period of extended stagnation following the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher energy costs following the war in Ukraine and increasing competition from China in key German specialties such as autos and industrial machinery have held back an economy that is heavily focused on exports. Then came Trump's imposition of higher tariffs, or import taxes, on goods from the European Union. The slow growth has also exposed long-term structural issues such as excessive bureaucracy and lack of skilled labor. A stronger euro has also made exports less competitive on price.

A group of leading economists has predicted 0.9% growth for this year but said that forecast could be at risk if the increase in government spending is unleashed more slowly than expected.

The German economy grew 0.2% in the last three months of 2025, according to available preliminary data.

FILE - Containers are piled up in the harbor in Hamburg, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)