Legendary former Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal is present in the stands as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic battle it out in the men's final of the ongoing Australian Open 2026.

In fact, the often divisive tennis legend undoubtedly enhanced his reputation as he paid a classy and heartwarming tribute to his former rival, Rafael Nadal, who had been watching on from the stands. “I want to speak to the legendary Rafa, who is in the stands,” Djokovic said during the trophy presentation.

Alexandra Eala has not dwelled on her Australian Open disappointment, where the promising young player bowed out in the opening round. Eala has a massive following and her popularity was on full display at Melbourne Park,

Zverev has twice come close to breaking that trend, losing the 2024 French Open final to the latter before that Melbourne heartbreak to the former. Their dominance arrives immediately after similar success for the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

The parallels with the old Big Three are becoming harder to ignore. As Federer, Nadal and Djokovic once monopolised the biggest stages, Alcaraz and Sinner are now doing the same, with Djokovic being the only real competition.

Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly one of the greatest athletes of all time, having won 22 Grand Slam titles during his illustrious career. The “King of Clay” retired from tennis in 2024 at the age of 38, after years of injury struggles,

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Iga Swiatek says she has been raised to "play with spin" and admits that being a huge Rafael Nadal fan growing up played a part in it. The qualify of the Polish tennis star's is well-documented and she is widely regarded as the player with the best spin on the WTA Tour.