Italian Jannik Sinner has made tennis history as the first person to win six Masters 1000 tournaments in a row. The ATP tour is divided into four different types of tournaments: Masters 250, 500, 1000 and Grand Slams. The four Grand Slams — the Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon — are often considered the most prestigious tournaments and have the biggest prize pools, but the nine Masters 1000 are the second most-coveted tournaments. Sinner won the Paris Open in late 2025 and then went on a tear at the beginning of this year, winning Indian Wells, the Miami Open, Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open in just a couple of months. 

Sinner also only dropped two of the 58 sets he played during these tournaments, dominating the matches. In fact, Sinner has only lost two of the last 47 matches he’s played, one in the Australian Open and another in the Vienna Open. Throughout those matches he only lost nine of the 106 sets he played; statistically, a player only had an 8% chance of winning a set against Sinner in the last six months. 

Now, Sinner has won the Italian Open, winning six Masters 1000s in a row and achieving a career Golden Slam. A Golden Slam is a title given to a player who has won all nine of the Masters 1000 tournaments — Novak Djokovic is the only other male player who has ever achieved the Golden Slam. Considering Sinner is already close to being among elite company and leaving his own mark in tennis history, what else does he have to do to be considered an all-time great of the sport?

This is a question that has come up more often as a new era of athletes is ushered in, not just in tennis with Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner, but in other sports too like basketball with Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous Alexander or soccer with Ousman Dembele and Kylian Mbappe. Regardless of the sport, it seems that most fans are unwilling to recognize when new eras of excellence are emerging. Analysts can be more or less generous depending on the sport, but in tennis there is a constant comparison between Sinner and Alcaraz and the previous greats, namely Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. 

Alcaraz already has seven Grand Slam titles to his name, more than any of the big three at his age. Sinner has just completed a Golden Masters at just 24 years old, something Djokovic didn’t achieve until he was 31. Given their pace, it’s only a matter of time before their accolades catch up to those who came before them, but it remains to be seen whether those accomplishments will be recognized or disregarded.

— Editors Note: Due to technological restraints, the Cs in Luka Doncic's name are missing special characters.