Carlos Alcaraz nearly achieved a feat that eluded even the Big 3

The Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic all achieved the career grand slam and countless other tennis feats but never completed the Double Channel Slam: winning the French Open and Wimbledon in consecutive years.

Bjorn Borg remains the only player to pull off the clay-grass-court major double in back-to-back years, doing so in 1978 and 1979 and again in 1980 for good measure. On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz came tantalizingly close to joining him in the rare club following his wins at the 2024 French Open, 2024 Wimbledon and 2025 French Open.

The Spaniard claimed the first set against Jannik Sinner and seemed in prime position to three-peat at Wimbledon. He would ultimately lose in four sets, ending his 20-match winning streak at Wimbledon (dating back to 2023) and career-best 24-match winning streak in 2025.

It's a safe bet that Alcaraz, 22, will win The Championships again, and possibly even pull off another Wimbledon-Roland Garros double in a single season. However, it's hard to foresee him clinching the two slams in back-to-back years, given the rise of Sinner and the battery of young players projected to make a splash in the coming years.

Alcaraz may have missed out on a golden opportunity to complete the rarest of rare feats in the sport. The situation is eerily similar to that of his countryman, Nadal, who had a similar shot in 2011 after winning the 2010 French Open, 2010 Wimbledon and 2011 French Open before losing to Djokovic in the 2011 Wimbledon final. Nadal never got such an opportunity again, as he never made it back to the final at SW19, even as he continued to dominate at his beloved Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Federer (2009) and Djokovic (2021) pulled off the Channel Slam only once and never came close to repeating. It further illustrates how rare the feat is and why Alcaraz might have missed his one shot at outdoing the Big 3.