Carlos Alcaraz has enjoyed his best-ever start to an ATP season, winning 12 consecutive matches on the Tour.
Alcaraz became the youngest player in history to win the Career Grand Slam in men’s singles after winning the Australian Open.
He then secured a second title of 2026 in Qatar, comfortably defeating Arthur Fils in the final.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
Alcaraz has quickly silenced the big doubt that surrounded him heading into the season, as the Spaniard has demonstrated a level of dominance not seen since the era of the ‘Big Three.’
When looking into the numbers behind the Spaniard’s recent results, one key statistic stands out.
Carlos Alcaraz’s second-serve prowess should worry Jannik Sinner
Analysis from the ATP Tour has revealed that Carlos Alcaraz has greatly improved his winning percentage on second-serve points at the start of this year.
As things stand, Alcaraz ranks third all-time in second serve winning percentage. The Spaniard has averaged 56 per cent across his career so far, behind only Roger Federer [56.8%] and Rafael Nadal [57.1%].
Remarkably, Alcaraz has greatly increased his second-serve winning percentage this year, capturing 59.1 per cent of all his second-serve points.
This increase in Alcaraz’s productivity should worry Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Serving Statistics [ATP Tour]
| Serving Stats | Career | 2026 |
| First-Serve % | 65% | 68.3% |
| First-Serve Pts Won % | 72.2% | 74.3% |
| Second-Serve Pts Won % | 56% | 59.4% |
| Aces Per Match | 4.3 | 6.1 |
| Service Games Won | 84.6% | 90.8% |
Alcaraz had demonstrated serving improvements during the latter half of last year, as evidenced by his superb serving performance against Sinner in the US Open final.
With Alcaraz again improving his serve this year and Sinner struggling to get off the mark, the Italian is in danger of being left in the dust.
It is worth noting that Sinner is also performing superbly on second-serve points at the start of this year.
The Italian has won 58.3 per cent of his second-serve points, as per Tennis Abstract. However, this number is down from Sinner’s 2025 average, when he won 59.1 per cent of his second-serve points.
There is hope for Sinner: the Italian has clearly made improvements to his first serve at the start of the year, as evidenced by his first-serve averages.
Jannik Sinner’s Serving Statistics
| Serving Stats | Career | 2026 |
| First-Serve % | 60.5% | 67.9% |
| First-Serve Pts Won % | 75.5% | 77.5% |
| Second-Serve Pts Won % | 55.5% | 58.3% |
| Ace Percentage | 7.8% | 14.7% |
| Service Points Won | 67.6% | 71.4% |
Carlos Alcaraz said he had ‘surprised’ himself with his serving improvements
After defeating Tommy Paul in the Australian Open fourth round, the 22-year-old noted his surprise regarding the progression of his serve.
“I’m surprising myself to be honest,” he said.
“The serve is something I’ve been working on for a long time. I’m really happy to see the improvement of the serve and to have a high percentage.
What do you think is Carlos Alcaraz’s best surface and why?
“After every set, I try to take up my percentage, I look at the screen after every set. In general, [in] the four matches I’ve played, the serve has been an important weapon for me.”
Alcaraz will look to continue his strong start to the year at the Indian Wells Open: a tournament he won in 2023 and 2024.
The tournament, set to begin on March 4, was last won by Jack Draper.
