Carlos Alcaraz has a big opportunity if he makes his Grand Slam return at the US Open this year.
Alcaraz won his second US Open title in 2025 after he beat his biggest rival Jannik Sinner in the final.
Despite winning another Grand Slam since then at the Australian Open, Alcaraz was forced to miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.
As Alcaraz prepares to make his comeback ahead of the US Open, he now has an opportunity to achieve a rare feat that even Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have not done before.
Carlos Alcaraz can become the first man to defend the US Open title since Roger Federer
Alcaraz will be the defending champion at the US Open this year, giving him the opportunity to end an 18-year streak.
During the past 18 years of the US Open, no player has been able to defend the men’s singles title.
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The last player to do so was Roger Federer, who won the US Open five years in a row between 2004 and 2008.
Despite winning a combined eight titles at the US Open since then, neither Djokovic nor Nadal have been able to defend their title in New York once before.
Alcaraz will be hoping to end this run this year by becoming the first man to defend the US Open title since 2008, joining Federer, Pat Rafter, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe as the only ATP players to do so in the Open Era.
| Year | Men’s singles US Open champion |
| 2004 | Roger Federer |
| 2005 | Roger Federer |
| 2006 | Roger Federer |
| 2007 | Roger Federer |
| 2008 | Roger Federer |
| 2009 | Juan Martin del Potro |
| 2010 | Rafael Nadal |
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic |
| 2012 | Andy Murray |
| 2013 | Rafael Nadal |
| 2014 | Marin Cilic |
| 2015 | Novak Djokovic |
| 2016 | Stan Wawrinka |
| 2017 | Rafael Nadal |
| 2018 | Novak Djokovic |
| 2019 | Rafael Nadal |
| 2020 | Dominic Thiem |
| 2021 | Daniil Medvedev |
| 2022 | Carlos Alcaraz |
| 2023 | Novak Djokovic |
| 2024 | Jannik Sinner |
| 2025 | Carlos Alcaraz |
How have Carlos Alcaraz’s previous Grand Slam title defences gone?
Although Alcaraz will be attempting to achieve a rare feat at the US Open this year, it is certainly not his first time trying to defend a Grand Slam title.
The first time Alcaraz actually had the opportunity to defend a major title was actually at the US Open in 2023, where he made it to the semi-finals before losing to Daniil Medvedev.
However, Alcaraz was able to defend his title at both Wimbledon in 2024 and Roland Garros in 2025.
| Grand Slam Carlos Alcaraz won | What happened at his title defence |
| US Open 2022 | Semi-final |
| Wimbledon 2023 | Won the title |
| Roland Garros 2024 | Won the title |
| Wimbledon 2024 | Final |
| Roland Garros 2025 | Did not play |
Alcaraz was unable to even play his most recent Grand Slam title defence at Roland Garros due to his wrist injury.
The world number three will now hope to recover in time for the US Open, with Alcaraz still wearing protection on his wrist in recent public appearances.
Alcaraz’s first scheduled tournament back is at the Cincinnati Open, where he is also the defending champion and the main draw starts on August 13.
