Carlos Alcaraz showed up for the 2023 grass court season with a grand total of four career match wins on the surface. Fast forward a few weeks, and he had stitched together 12 straight victories, snapped up titles at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, and crushed every doubt about his grass game. Then in 2024? He lost early at Queen’s but still walked away with a second straight Wimbledon crown. Oh, and the cherry on top? Both his Wimbledon titles came after beating Novak Djokovic, the player with 24 Grand Slam titles and seven of them at SW19.

Now, as we head into the 2025 edition of Wimbledon, here are five reasons why the Spaniard is primed for a historic third straight title.

Fresh French Open Momentum

Alcaraz rolls into the grass season like a gladiator fresh out of the Colosseum. Just days ago, he defended his Roland Garros crown in a match that will go down as one of the greatest finals ever played. Facing World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in a five-set, 5-hour-29-minute epic, the World No.2 clawed his way back from two sets down to win 4–6, 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–6(3), 7–6(10–2). It was the longest final in French Open history and the first time Alcaraz had ever recovered from a two-set deficit.

Now, Alcaraz arrives on grass with the wind fully in his sails. Backed by the momentum of that monumental Paris triumph and the confidence of being a two-time defending Wimbledon champion, he carries a psychological edge that’s hard to ignore.

Carlos Alcaraz’s Grass-Court Wizardry

Coming into the 2024 grass swing, the skeptics had returned. After a surprise second-round exit at Queen’s Club, where he lost to Britain’s Jack Draper in straight sets, 6–7, 3–6, questions about his form on grass resurfaced. His title defence at Queen’s had gone up in smoke. However, he silenced any doubters just a few weeks later. The Spaniard was back at his devastating best, dismantling Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final with a stunning 6–2, 6–2, 7–6 win.

Even the Serb was left impressed by Alcaraz’s grass court evolution. “But, yeah, grass, I must say he surprised me. He surprised everyone with how quickly he adapted to grass this year,” Djokovic admitted after the match. “I must say the slices, the kind of chipping returns, the net play—it’s very impressive. I didn’t expect him to play so well this year on grass, but he’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt. He’s playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces, and he deserves to be where he is.”

On grass, his game manifests as devastating serves followed by whipped forehands, inch-perfect drop shots that exploit the low bounce, fearless net-rushing (bolstered by elite volleys), and an ability to construct points creatively from any position.

The Jannik Sinner Rivalry

The rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has quickly become one of the most captivating storylines in modern tennis.  Their latest duel at Roland Garros was the 12th chapter in their growing saga, and for the first time, it came on the biggest possible stage: a Grand Slam final.

It didn’t disappoint. Alcaraz emerged victorious in a five-set classic, further tilting their head-to-head in his favor. He now leads 8–4 in their rivalry, and even more impressively, has won each of their last five meetings. The momentum is clearly on his side. Their last three encounters have all come in finals; the two before that were in Grand Slam semifinals. Whether it’s clay or hard courts, Alcaraz has cracked the Sinner code. Four of those five recent wins have come after Alcaraz dropped the first set, showing he’s not just skilled, he’s mentally locked in.

As the tour shifts to grass, the stakes get even higher. Sinner will warm up at Halle, while Alcaraz heads to Queen’s, setting up the possibility of another blockbuster showdown at Wimbledon. But here too, history favors the Spaniard. Sinner’s best Wimbledon result is a semifinal run in 2023, impressive, but still short of the finish line. Meanwhile, Alcaraz already has two Wimbledon trophies and the psychological edge of having conquered Djokovic twice on grass.

The Field vs. Carlos Alcaraz

It’s not just Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon mix—there’s a familiar cast of names still trying to catch up to Carlos Alcaraz’s level. Players like Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, once viewed as the natural heirs to the Big Three throne, continue to struggle against Alcaraz’s relentless pace and court presence. As Mats Wilander recently put it, Alcaraz and Sinner are operating on “another level.”   

One name that’s gaining momentum, though, is Jack Draper. The rising British lefty recently won Indian Wells and has already beaten Alcaraz on grass, last year at Queen’s. With home support, Draper is no longer flying under the radar. But questions remain about his consistency and durability in best-of-five scenarios.

And then, of course, there’s Novak Djokovic. The seven-time Wimbledon champion remains the gold standard on grass, and Carlos Alcaraz’s greatest rival at SW19. Their two grass-court finals have already become part of Wimbledon lore, and Djokovic is always a threat, no matter the odds. But at 38, Father Time is beginning to tug at his sleeve. The deeper a match goes, the harder it becomes to maintain his level.

Carlos Alcaraz’s Endurance and Mental Fortitude

Pulling off the Channel Slam — winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back—is one of the most punishing challenges in tennis. The body has barely recovered from the red clay of Paris before it’s tossed onto the slick, unforgiving grass of London. Only a select few have ever managed it, and in 2024, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to join that elite club.

After winning an epic, record-length French Open final (5h 29m) where he saved championship points and came back from two sets down, he has proven his endurance level, breaking his streak of never winning a match from 2 sets down. This resilience allows him to withstand the deep runs and five-set battles Wimbledon inevitably demands. That kind of resilience is what separates champions from contenders.

With Carlos Alcaraz’s grass campaign kicking off at Queen’s Club against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the road to a third consecutive Wimbledon crown officially begins. And if history, form, and firepower are anything to go by, Centre Court may be seeing a familiar champion at the end. Who’s your pick for Wimbledon? Let us know in the comments below!