Australian icon, who won the 1987 Wimbledon Championship, has recently shared his thoughts on the dominance established by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and how their unforeseen absence would affect tournaments. Before their Australian Open run, the duo will play the Hyundai Card Super Match exhibition match in Incheon, South Korea, on January 10.
Pat Cash Breaks Down Why Alcaraz and Sinner’s Dominance Could Worry Tournament Officials
The Melbourne native is the former World No. 4 and has clinched six singles titles and 12 doubles titles. Apart from these achievements, he has also won two Davis Cup titles with the Australian team in 1983 and 1986, and reached the Hopman Cup finals in 1989.
The tennis icon has recently shared his thoughts on the dominance created by Sinner and Alcaraz, the duo who won the four Grand Slams in their 2025 season. The Italian won the Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships, along with four other titles, and the Spaniard won the US Open and the French Open, along with six other titles.
Pat Cash, who retired from singles in 1997 and from doubles in 2007, shared his thoughts, adding why the duo’s command could be unhealthy for the entire tennis landscape:
“It’s a two-horse race and I don’t necessarily think it’s a healthy thing. We want to see those great finals between them and the French Open final set the bench so high that everyone wants to see that. We all want another five-set thriller with points being won from all angles, but that’s not going to happen all the time.” (via Tennis365)
He continued, adding that if one of them is absent from tournaments, it could pose issues for the officials, “So it is very much a two-horse race and if one of them has a bad day and gets knocked out, the tournament officials are going to be worried. They are all hoping Alcaraz and Sinner get to the final and do what they did at the French Open last year all over again. They are holding their breath that these two guys get through and that’s no necessarily a healthy thing.”
Apart from this, Cash reflected on the current competitive scenario in the WTA, which is equally dominated as compared to the ATP. Elite players such as Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys, along with others, are all making an impact.
Cash added, “We look at the WTA Tour and it is wide open, with lots of players who can win the Grand Slam, but it’s not like that with the men at the moment. Would I like to see Alcaraz and Sinner in the final of the Australian Open on a few weeks time? You bet ya I would. It would be really something.”
Last season, Sabalenka won the US Open, Świątek clinched the Wimbledon Championships, Keys won the Australian Open, and Gauff claimed the French Open. Along with their dominance, the Russian-Kazakh star, Rybakina, swept the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.