Carlos Alcaraz wins 2026 Australian Open, defeats the Joker
Spanish tennis ace Carlos Alcaraz has made history become the youngest man to claim a career Grand Slam, denying Novak Djokovic what would have been his 25th championship win
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Carlos Alcaraz has won the Australian Open, making the Spaniard the youngest man to win a career Grand Slam*, at just 22 years old.
The world No. 1 defeated Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5. Djokovic missed out on what could have been his 25th Grand Slam win at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night. Instead, Alcaraz served Djokovic his first ever defeat in an Australian Open final.
When asked if he could fully appreciate what he had achieved at such a young age, Alcaraz said he was “trying”.
“Tennis is really beautiful, but … the bad part of tennis, it is we have tournaments week after week after week, and sometimes you don’t realise what you’ve been doing lately, because you know, once you finish tournament, you got to be prepared or your mind is about, you know, going to the next tournament,” he explained.
“So sometimes you don’t stop yourself and think about what you’re doing. What I’ve learned, you know, this year is about appreciate and enjoy every single second of the moment you’re living.
“Not only lifting the trophies, but playing tournaments, playing tennis, getting victories, getting (losses). Whatever it is, just enjoy and appreciate the life you’re living.
“So right now I’m just trying to have a time to realise what I’ve been doing. Yeah, I know I’m doing history with some trophies, some tournaments, some achievements that I’ve been getting. For me it’s an honour to put my name on the history books.”
Alcaraz said his motivation to keep playing well was that he simply hates losing.
“Trying to lose as less as I can,” he said with a smile.
Alcaraz will also earn $4.15 million for his epic Australian win.
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GLOSSARY
- Grand Slam: when someone wins all of a set of important sports competitions, often in tennis also referring to claiming a significant championship at a major international tournament
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QUICK QUIZ
- Who is the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam title?
- Had Novak Djokovic, how many Grand Slams would he have won?
- What was the match breakdown in sets?
- How much prize money will Alcaraz receive for his AO win?
- What does Alcaraz say he has learned this year?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. News: condensed
Identify the most important pieces of information in this article and write a condensed version of it using 50 words or less.
Draw a picture or diagram to support your condensed news story.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
2. Extension
Compare your condensed news story with a classmate. Did you both include the same information or are your stories quite different? Discuss your choices and then work together to create a final condensed version of the story that you both agree tells the important parts that a reader would need or want to know.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
I’ve always wanted to know
If you had the opportunity to talk to Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic and ask them five questions, what would you ask them?
Come up with five different questions. Challenge yourself to use different question stems (question openers words) to write your questions, and don’t forget to end with a question mark.