Winners and losers from the first quarter of 2026

Aryna Sabalenka after winning the Miami Open. (Getty/Carmen Mandato)

The first three months on the tennis calendar hit at a frenetic pace with a plethora of tournaments spanning across most continents.

Across those events, players have announced themselves for the first time or once more, while some have regressed in ways that very few saw coming.

Here are some of those winners and losers from the first three months of the year.

WINNERS:

It is very easy to talk about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as winners because that is exactly what they are.

Alcaraz completed the Career Slam at just 22 and started the year with a 16-match winning streak, while Sinner has claimed a monopoly on every Masters 1000 event played in 2026, including the Sunshine Double.

Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have also been electric this year. Not only have they given us an enthralling Australian Open final, but they have cemented themselves as the two best players in the world.

Sabalenka, like Sinner, clinched the historic Sunshine Double and has won 23 of the 24 matches she has contested across the first block of tournaments this season, with that only loss to the Kazakh in Melbourne.

Rybakina's second Grand Slam title automatically qualifies her as a winner, and if it weren't for Sabalenka, she would have an Indian Wells title to her name.

Other winners across the ATP Tour include Argentina's Tomás Martín Etcheverry, who, after a third round showing at the Australian Open, captured his maiden ATP title in Rio, a fairly large tournament to achieve the feat.

Despite some bizarre defeats in 2026, Daniil Medvedev is somewhat finding his way back to his best with a pair of titles in Brisbane and Dubai, the latter being the first occasion on which he has won the same tournament on a second occasion.

The former US Open champion also ended Alcaraz's unbeaten run to start the year, dispatching him at Indian Wells before going unbroken in his defeat at the hands of Sinner in the final.

Frenchman Arthur Fils has also enjoyed an incredible comeback from a back injury, flexing his muscles on tour as he looks to make inroads towards the top 10.

On the WTA, 20-year-old Czech Sára Bejlek has announced herself with a maiden title in Abu Dhabi, propelling her ranking inside the top 40 after beginning the year outside the top 100.

Elina Svitolina is another winner following her semi-final run at the Australian Open, surging back into the top 10.

Iva Jovic has also been incredible, earning her first Grand Slam quarter-final and progressing into the top 20 for the first time in her career, while Turkiye's Zeynep Sönmez has shown that she might be one to watch in the future.

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LOSERS:

Greek tennis.

Stefanos Tsitsipas' form slump and career in general might be one of the greatest quandaries in tennis history.

This is a man who just three years ago was playing for the No.1 ranking at the Australian Open, but now languishes at 80th in the world with a measly 11 wins from 20 matches this year.

Can he resurrect his career? Alarming concerns.

Maria Sakkari has endured similar fortunes, winning just 53 per cent of her matchups, with most of them coming in Doha, where she reached the semis.

Sakkari was, however, able to defeat Iga Świątek, who has looked mightily inconsistent across the first quarter of 2026.

This year has marked the second consecutive season she has failed to produce a singles trophy between January and March, dipping back outside the top three with a winning record of 65 per cent, much lower than her usual lofty heights.

With her strongest surface of clay, the predominant focus for the next two months, the Pole would dearly love to gain some confidence as she looks to regain the Roland-Garros crown once more.

While this may sound harsh, Alexander Zverev fits into this category. Unable to gain a single title and sitting at zero wins from four matches against Alcaraz and Sinner, including that genuine heartbreaker in the Australian Open semi-final.

He has a winning ratio of 75 per cent in 2026, which is brilliant, but not featuring in a final is a stark reminder of how much more he has to do to compete with the two younger men ahead of him.

From an Australian standpoint, Alexei Popyrin's 2026 has been trying, winning just four of 15 contests and failing to progress past the opening round at seven tournaments, including one Challenger in Bahrain.

Continuing with the theme on the home front, the nation as a whole would consider it a loss that the green and gold won't be featuring in the Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup finals after defeats to Ecuador and Great Britain, respectively.

It has been an intriguing commencement to the year, and with the clay court swing well and truly underway, will we see some unexpected surprises or more of the same in the second quarter of 2026?

The legendary Kooyong Classic will be back 12-14^th January 2027 at the spiritual home of Australian tennis. Keep an eye out for all information re hospitality packages and ticket sales, plus player announcements at www.kooyongclassic.com.au