All coming up roses: Carlos Alcaraz crowned Best Tennis Player at ESPY's on day of yacht photo with mystery woman and comeback being confirmed
ATPThursday, 16 July 2026 at 11:54
Carlos Alcaraz has had a pretty great day or so after a lot of doom and gloom with his comeback all but confirmed by the Cincinnati Open and he has now been awarded an ESPY again in the yearly awards.
Alcaraz has won the ESPY for Best Tennis Player beating out his main rival Jannik Sinner as well as Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
The time frame in which Alcaraz won the award is in fact for June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026 so in this time, he has won three Grand Slams so to alleviate any confusion as to why Alcaraz has won the award when he has barely played in the last few months is due to the previous eligibility cycle so the one for next year has already started.
The ESPY's can best be described as the ESPN's version of an Oscar/Emmy/Grammy/Tony award, but for sports and they have held the award ceremony every year since 1993.
Best tennis player ESPY's 2026
| Nominee |
| Carlos Alcaraz (Winner) |
| Elena Rybakina |
| Aryna Sabalenka |
| Jannik Sinner |
It also changed after 2022 with it becoming best tennis player over best female and best male so Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina fall under the best tennis player.
Alcaraz though has won it in the past few years in 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026 in a bit of a clean sweep showing his true excellence as of late.
He was also sighted on a yacht with a mystery woman so certainly is in a good head space whether he likes the media attention or not. But he will soon return just next month and given that he has not played for a small amount of time on the tour, his battle to regain the ESPY next year is very much on.
But in the only category in which tennis is now recognised, Alcaraz is the king once again this season.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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