Jim Courier has one concern about what might happen to tennis viewership in the near future
World number one Carlos Alcaraz made history with his Australian Open triumph earlier this month.
The Spaniard became the youngest player ever to complete the Career Grand Slam, aged 22, by securing a maiden trophy at Melbourne Park.
He also extended his lead in the race for Grand Slams over his rival, Jannik Sinner, having won seven compared to the Italian’s four.
Alcaraz has won three of the last four Grand Slam titles and is firmly the best player in the world at this moment in time.
Jim Courier discusses the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
There were concerns last year that the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz was becoming slightly one-sided, which tennis legend Jim Courier touched on in an episode of Beyond the Numbers.
Discussing the potential of a third star to emerge in the near future and join the ‘new two’ at the top of the game, Courier said: “Eventually, someone will burst through.
“This won’t hold for a long time, even Roger and Rafa winning those eight majors in a row, at some point, Novak said, hey, you know what? Here I come.
“And, Andy was right in there behind him, getting his majors, getting to world number one.
“I do think that what’s really important from just my pure I want tennis to do well standpoint, is that there’s balance in the rivalry, and it’s not completely one-sided, because that’s when fans might tune out a little bit.”
Mark Petchey wants to see a ‘disruptor’ in men’s tennis
Responding to Courier, Emma Raducanu’s former coach, Mark Petchey, said: “For me personally, I’d love to see the next Novak, the next disruptor, the next person that’s gonna look at a duopoly and say, I want a piece of that.
“But not only do I want a piece of that, I actually want to accelerate past you, and I’m gonna achieve things that you guys didn’t even think you could dream of.
“And by the way, I am gonna steal every single record that you have. To have that passion, to have that hunger, to have that starving desire. That’s the guy I wanna see come through.”
Many pundits have tipped Brazilian star Joao Fonseca to be the third star to join Sinner and Alcaraz, but the teenager has endured a rough start to his 2026 season.
