GRAND SLAM OBSESSION: WHY ALEX DE MINAUR IS SACRIFICING EVERYTHING FOR MAJOR GLORY
Alex de Minaur wins the 2026 Rotterdam Open: Read about his climb to No. 6 and his plan to end his Grand Slam quarter-final curse.
Alex de Minaur isn’t shy about what he wants; he’s chasing a Grand Slam title. That’s his big goal, plain and simple. After climbing to world No. 6 and making the ATP Finals two years running, de Minaur heads into 2026 looking to finally crack the code at the majors.
He kicked off the new season in style, too. On Sunday, he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2 to win the Rotterdam Open, bagging his 11th ATP title. Earlier in January, he made another deep run at the Australian Open, reaching the quarter-finals in front of his home crowd. He only dropped one set on the way, but then Carlos Alcaraz stopped him cold in straight sets.
That’s kind of been the story for him at the Slams; he’s reached the quarter-finals at all four, but never gone further. Six times now, he’s made it to the last eight. Once, at Wimbledon in 2024, injury forced him out. It stings.
After his Rotterdam win, de Minaur opened up about his ambitions. “My whole life and my whole career, I haven’t been one to speak with words out loud,” he told Bolavip. “I let my actions do the talking, but of course, I am dreaming about winning Grand Slams. That’s the ultimate goal for every tennis player and me, and I’ll do everything I can to win one. The loss at the Australian Open hurt, but I got back up. The year’s long. There are three more Grand Slams and a bunch of Masters left, so I’m hoping to step up and win some of those big titles.”
The Rotterdam trophy marks his fourth ATP 500 win, but he’s still hunting that first Masters 1000 or major title. His one Master's final so far came at the 2023 Canadian Open, where Jannik Sinner took him out in straight sets.
Sinner and Alcaraz have been big roadblocks for de Minaur. He’s 0-19 against those two combined. And let’s face it, nobody’s had an easy time with them lately; they’ve won the last nine Slams between them. Still, de Minaur’s not backing down. He thinks his improvements, especially with his serve, are closing the gap.
“I think I’ve improved a lot, so I believe I can compete for these titles,” he said. “My serve’s better now, which matters a ton. Everyone knows I can grind from the baseline, but if I can get more free points on my serve, it makes everything easier. That could be the difference in winning the big ones.”
He’s been working on finding the right balance, not just blasting serves but hitting a high percentage. “In the past, my percentage was too low, and that’s cost me against the best, like Sinner and Alcaraz. I made things harder for myself. Now I’m starting to figure it out.”
Next up for de Minaur: the Mexican Open in Acapulco, running February 23-28. He knows the place well; he’s won it twice already, in 2023 and 2024. This year, he’ll be one of four top-10 players in the draw, alongside Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, and Ben Shelton. The chase for that Grand Slam goes on.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
