For years, tennis fans watched in awe as the ‘Big Three’— Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer— ruled the sport with an iron grip. They dominated the majors, amassing 66 titles from 81 Grand Slam tournaments between Federer’s 2003 Wimbledon triumph to Djokovic’s latest victory at the 2023 US Open.
The constant question looming over the sport has been when the reign of these titans would end. Has it arrived?
The 20-time major champion Federer retired in 2022, the same season Nadal won his 14th Roland Garros crown, his most recent Slam title. Though the 38-year-old Spaniard is still competing, he has been significantly hindered by injuries, having competed in just seven events — including just one major — this season.
[ATP APP]And then there is Djokovic, who won three of the four majors in 2023, claimed this year’s Paris Olympics gold medal and is still in the Top 5 of the PIF ATP Rankings at age 37. But the 24-time major champion suffered a shocking third-round defeat to Alexei Popyrin in New York, ensuring that the Serbian will end the season without a major trophy for the first time since 2017.
With 23-year-old Jannik Sinner claiming his second Slam title at Flushing Meadows, this season marks only the third time — and the first since 1993 — that the four majors were won by players aged 23-and-under (Open Era).
The Italian, who strengthened his claim as World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings with the title, and Carlos Alcaraz have equally split the 2024 majors. Is this tug of war battle the next chapter in their thrilling Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry?
1993: The last time the four majors were won by players 23-and-under
| Player | Tournament | Age |
| Jim Courier | Australian Open | 22 years, five months |
| Sergi Bruguera | Roland Garros | 22 years, four months |
| Pete Sampras | Wimbledon | 21 years, 10 month |
| Pete Sampras | US Open | 22 years, one month |
En route to Sinner’s maiden major title at the Australian Open, he shocked 10-time champion Djokovic in the semi-finals and then rallied from two-sets-to-love down in the title match against Daniil Medvedev.
By winning the US Open, Sinner is the first player since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to add to his first major title with a second crown the same season.
Alcaraz, 21, won the season’s other two majors, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, becoming the youngest man to earn a major trophy on all three surfaces — clay, hard and grass.
The World No. 3 successfully defended his Wimbledon title by defeating seven-time champion Djokovic in the final for a second consecutive year, though this year’s win was in straight sets compared to 2023’s dramatic five-setter.
Alcaraz, a four-time major champion, became just the sixth man in the Open Era to win the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year, joining Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Federer and Djokovic on that elite list.
This year could prove to be a seismic shift in the changing of the guard at the top of men’s tennis. Sinner and Alcaraz are two generational talents who have firmly planted themselves among the record books.
Did You Know?
Sinner and Alcaraz are both former champions at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where they triumphed aged 18 (Sinner in 2019, Alcaraz in 2021).
[NEWSLETTER FORM]