Top 7 tennis rivalries going into 2026

In every sport, comparisons will always be drawn between the absolute greats. Top athletes will always look to out-think, out-maneuver and out-perform each other in their pursuit of sporting glory. Hence, there have been era-defining rivalries in sports. Be it Ali vs Frazier (Boxing), Sachin vs Lara (Cricket) or Ronaldo vs Messi (Football) – the field of sport has always witnessed legendary rivalries. Similarly, the sport of tennis has been defined by iconic rivalries over the years – McEnroe vs Borg, Federer vs Nadal, Navratilova vs Evert, Nadal vs Djokovic and Graf vs Seles to name a few.

These rivalries have been defined by playing styles, intensity and unforgettable moments that have captivated tennis fans all over the world. Not only have these rivalries provided great entertainment, they have also shaped the future of the sport with the upcoming generations of athletes wanting to follow in the footsteps of their favourite stars. 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Top 7 biggest tennis rivalries that will be on show in 2026 – 

7. Joao Fonseca vs Lerner Tien

This is a rivalry between two of the game’s most exciting upcoming young talents. 

Brazilian tennis sensation Joao Fonseca is touted as the next big thing on the ATP Tour while the American Lerner Tien is also one of the future stars in Men’s tennis. Both tennis stars announced themselves at the 2025 Australian Open where they upset top ranked players. While Fonseca wiped out Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the first round, Tien took out former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in a marathon five-setter. 

Both 19-year-old players first met at the Next Gen ATP finals where Fonseca got the better of Tien twice – first in the round robin stage and then in the final. Being of the same age, there is a lot of focus on both these players being rivals. Though both are young and have massive scope for improvement, even at this level Fonseca has slightly overtaken Tien with the Brazilian currently leading the head-to-head record 3-0 and also having performed more consistently in the 2025 season. Fonseca is currently ranked World No. 24 on the ATP Rankings and won two ATP titles while Tien isn’t far behind, ranked World No. 28 right now, having won 1 ATP title in 2025. 

The two youngsters will go into the 2026 season without having to go through the qualification rounds at the Slams and due to being really close in the rankings, there are chances they will see a lot of each other in the upcoming season. Though Fonseca has dominated this rivalry so far, still early days to decide if it’s one-sided. Only time will tell how this rivalry pans out and who goes on to challenge the top seeds out of these two. 

6. Coco Gauff vs Belinda Bencic

This is another exciting rivalry in Women’s tennis – an experienced campaigner against a young American superstar.   

Coco Gauff had a fairly successful 2025, winning a Grand Slam title at Roland Garros – her most preferred surface and also performing well in other Grand Slams barring Wimbledon. She also won the 2025 Wuhan Open. Belinda Bencic has been the most inspiring comeback story of the 2025 season. After having given birth in April 2024, Bencic decided to join the WTA tour in January 2025. Since then, the Swiss player has won two WTA titles, reached the Wimbledon Semi-finals and from being ranked 487 to almost breaking into the WTA Top 10, Bencic’s achievements might have overshadowed even the best in Women’s Tennis.

Now coming to this rivalry, Gauff and Bencic have shared the stage four times in 2025 alone with Gauff getting the better of the Swiss on three occasions. Bencic only defeated Gauff at the Indian Wells RO16 while Gauff beat her at the 2025 Australian Open, Madrid Open RO16 and China Open RO16. While Gauff leads the head-to-head record at 4-2 currently, Bencic has proven to be a fierce competitor – one the World No. 3 can’t take for granted. The two even had an altercation at the China Open in Beijing where the Swiss accused Gauff’s team of playing mind games and ended up losing the match from a winning position. Bencic would certainly have revenge on her mind. 

With Bencic being nearer to Gauff in the rankings as well, they could have a chance to face each other in top WTA tournaments next season and it will be intriguing to see how Bencic responds after that defeat in Beijing. 

5. Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner

Even in the twilight of his incredibly successful Tennis career, Novak Djokovic is getting the better of most players on the ATP Tour barring the top two players – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Out of these two, Sinner has been likened to Djokovic more often as he seems to have a similar playing style as the Serbian legend. 

As a result, this rivalry has grown over the years with the two producing some exceptional tennis in their encounters. The most memorable match from this rivalry came at the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finals where Djokovic came back from a two-set deficit to defeat the young Italian in five sets. 

In their first five matches, Djokovic got the better of Sinner in four matches, leading the head-to-head record at 4-1 but the tide turned at the end of the 2023 season.  Since defeating Djokovic in the Davis Cup Semi-finals in 2023, Sinner hasn’t looked back. In 2025, the two faced each other in two Grand Slam Semifinals which Sinner won comfortably. Currently, Sinner is ahead in this rivalry with a 6-4 head-to-head record. 

Going into 2026, not knowing how long the Serbian legend will play, we all are well-aware that Djokovic can’t compete physically with the young players on the tour. However, we also know that he has an unrelenting mentality and an insane desire to compete with the very best. Hence, we are looking forward to seeing his battles with Sinner in 2026, hoping he can find answers to beat the highly consistent Italian and maybe find a way to an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. 

4. Elena Rybakina vs Iga Swiatek

Elena Rybakina closed out the 2025 season with the WTA Finals title but over the season, her rivalry with the former World No.1 Iga Swiatek created a lot of buzz and caused her a lot of suffering with the Pole dominating their encounters and getting the better of her. 

Iga Swiatek is standing on the verge of achieving a career Slam with only the Australian Open missing from her illustrious haul of WTA titles. Having conquered the grass surface at Wimbledon in 2025, the Pole now has six Grand Slam titles to her name. In contrast, Rybakina has failed to fulfill her potential, having won only a Wimbledon title so far but she proved to the world yet again why she is such a special player when she won the year-ending WTA Finals in Riyadh while going unbeaten in the tournament. 

The two have contested in many tournaments in 2025 alone with Swiatek dominating this rivalry, winning four times out of five. Swiatek’s only loss to Rybakina came in the round robin stage of the year-ending WTA Finals which the Kazakhstani player went on to win. 

Their head-to-head record is fairly close though, 6-5 in favour of Swiatek currently with Rybakina winning the early exchanges but Swiatek has come back to dominate this rivalry. 

Going into 2026, we will definitely want to see how this rivalry develops, whether Rybakina can find the answers to defeat Swiatek or the former World No. 1 goes for her crown by beating Rybakina and the other top players consistently. 

3. Taylor Fritz vs Alexander Zverev

This is yet another rivalry that will further intensify next season. Both Zverev (World No. 3) and Fritz (World No. 6) being close in the ATP rankings currently and consistently going deep in the Grand Slams and the ATP Masters tournaments, the German superstar will definitely face-off with the much-improved American in 2026 as well. 

With the two having battled it out 14 times against each other since 2016, Fritz currently has the head-to-head record 9-5 in this favour. Their most recent matchups took place in the Stuttgart Final and the Laver Cup Round Robin match, both of which went in Fritz’ favour. In fact, their last six encounters have all been dominated by the American with Zverev not being able to find a response against the lanky American, though their matches have been highly competitive. 

Going into 2026 and having rediscovered his form, Sascha Zverev would want to get even with Taylor Fritz and try to cut down that deficit. As the new season approaches, this rivalry will certainly attract a lot of attention in the big tournaments on the ATP Tour. 

2. Aryna Sabalenka vs Amanda Anisimova

This has been the hottest rivalry in Women’s tennis in 2025 and we hope to see more of the Sabalenka vs Anisimova matches as they are high-quality fist-pumping encounters. 

Sabalenka and Anisimova are undeniably two of the hardest hitting players in Women’s tennis and Anisimova is the only player on the Women’s circuit who has gotten the better of the World No. 1 many times. Their head-to-head record is mighty close with Anisimova currently leading 6-5. 

In 2025 alone, the two pitted up against each other in three Grand Slams and the year ending WTA Finals with Sabalenka getting the better of Anisimova on three occasions barring the Wimbledon Semi-finals which Anisimova won in three sets. 

With the American star having risen prominently in the WTA rankings due to her exploits in the 2025 season where she reached two Grand Slam Finals, won 2 WTA titles and also reached the Semi-Final of the WTA Finals. Sabalenka also retained the World No. 1 ranking for a second year in a row, having reached three Grand Slam finals this season though she could only add the US Open crown to her Grand Slam tally. 

With both players ending the 2025 season on a high, it would be interesting to see how they compete in the upcoming season. One thing is for sure though, their matches will be filled with hard-hitting, high-octane action where neither would want to give an inch to the other. 

1. Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner

The SinCaraz rivalry is undoubtedly here to stay in 2026 as well. In the 2025 season, the top two ranked players fought each other for the title in three Grand Slam finals, two ATP 1000 Masters and the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. 

The battle for supremacy in the Men’s game in 2025 was proof enough that these two are going to continue this rivalry for many a season and going into 2026, the battle would only intensify. The French Open final was probably the most memorable contest of the year with Alcaraz coming back from three match points and two sets down to stage an iconic comeback to win consecutive French Open titles. Everyone thought this would deflate Sinner completely but there’s something about greatness that motivates you to learn from failure, reflect on your shortcomings and become a better version of yourself. Sinner showed exactly that by defeating the same opponent at Wimbledon and then at the year-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. 

Though Alcaraz has the upper hand in this rivalry with a 10-6 head-to-head record currently, it remains to be seen how Sinner reinvents his game to get one over his nemesis in 2026 or if Alcaraz will continue to dominate this rivalry and haunt the Italian. 

Either way, Tennis fans will get to witness magical contests between two contrasting styles. We will get to see passion vs composure, attack vs defence, finesse vs power and just the two best players in the world battling to win the biggest prizes yet again in 2026.