Carlos Alcaraz: the unstoppable rise of tennis’ youngest-ever No.1
Two years in the past, Carlos Alcaraz had by no means reached an ATP tour last.
Having simply damaged into the highest 100, the then 18-year-old Spaniard was a comparatively unknown identify on the tennis scene, simply starting his shift from the junior recreation into the massive leagues.
Fast ahead simply 24 months to July 2023 and reasonably lots has modified: he’s World No.1 — the youngest ever — and has racked up an astonishing 12 titles on the ATP tour, together with a four-set US Open triumph in 2022 that noticed him changing into the seventh youngest participant in historical past to win a Grand Slam.
It’s not dangerous timing, as he steps onto the world stage at Wimbledon. No man apart from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Sir Andy Murray has received Wimbledon since 2002 and whereas numerous gamers have been tipped because the “next generation” within the males’s recreation, none thus far have meaningfully challenged the dominance of the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic since Murray fell down the rankings after a hip harm. Could Alcaraz lastly break that cycle?
Tennis insiders actually consider he has a superb probability. Alcaraz’s US Open victory at 19 made him the primary ever teenage World No.1 for the reason that rankings had been created almost 50 years in the past. “It’s crazy for me,” he stated after his US Open victory. “I never thought I was going to achieve something like this at 19 years old. Everything came so fast.”
Alcaraz secured his first grass-court title when he received at Queen’s final month
/ Getty Images for LTANow a charismatic, smiley and good-looking 20-year-old, Alcaraz — ‘Carlitos’ to his mates and ‘Charlie’ when speaking about himself — has rapidly change into a fan favorite amongst tennis fanatics starting to preemptively mourn the tip sport’s golden period.
Perhaps it’s this allure, star high quality and boyish grin that has additionally caught the attention of the style world — Vogue referred to as him “the new king of tennis” after they interviewed him about his love of dishevelled denims and classic sneakers earlier this yr, and he was introduced as Louis Vuitton’s newest ambassador simply final week (the chiselled abs most likely helped, too).
With a recent victory at Queen’s underneath his belt, Alcaraz arrives at SW19 because the primary seed and favorite to take dwelling the trophy, so would this be his probability to interrupt into the Big Three?
From his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise into the file books, right here’s every part you want to know.
Humble beginnings and a few unlikely helpers
Alcaraz was coached by his father, who himself was in Spain’s high 40
/ Murcia Club de TenisAlcaraz is perhaps the primary in his household to achieve the higher echelons of the world tennis rankings, however it may properly have been his father Carlos Alcaraz Snr or grandfather Carlos Alcaraz Snr Snr who discovered themselves taking to Centre Court earlier than him, had that they had the identical (dweet) stroke of luck as their 20-year-old son and grandson.
Both males had been gifted tennis gamers with buckets of promise, however sadly lacked the funding to make it into the highest of what’s a famously costly sport. Alcaraz began life this fashion too: born and raised alongside his three brothers, Álvaro, Jaime and Sergio in Murcia, on Spain’s Iberian Peninsula, he first picked up a tennis racket at simply 4 years previous and supposedly used to cry each time he was informed to cease taking part in and go dwelling for dinner.
Alcaraz sported the Posters Reina brand on his tennis shirts from aged 10
/ Getty ImagesHis father, Carlos Alcaraz Senior, had as soon as been in Spain’s tennis high 40 however opted to run the tennis academy that his personal father had arrange when he did not progress as a result of an absence of funding.
A younger Alcaraz was coached by his father (his father was a tennis coach and administrator at his native membership, El Palmar; his mom was elevating Alcaraz and his three brothers, who’re all obsessed with tennis), and whereas his expertise was by no means unsure, the household struggled to search out the cash to fund what is commonly an extremely costly profession.
Help quickly got here from the unlikeliest of locations. Alfonso Lopes Rueda, the tennis-loving president of native cake and yoghurt firm Postres Reina, took an curiosity within the younger star and helped fund him by his early tournaments. In alternate, Alcaraz sported the corporate’s brand on the shirts he has wore throughout his matches from the age of 10.
The firm’s help sustained Alcaraz by his early teenagers, permitting him to entry one of the best teaching in his area and journey to probably the most aggressive tournaments.
Alcaraz was later signed to worldwide sports activities administration group IMG on the age of 11, and from the age of 13 he signed a racket take care of Babolat. But the true magic occurred in 2018, when he started working with Juan Carlos Ferrero. At the time, the previous Spanish No.1 had been working with Alexander Zverev, however the two parted methods and Ferrero as an alternative took on the venture of teaching Alcaraz.
Ferrero retired in 2012, however he has broadly been thought of an important participant in Alcaraz’ success, as each a coach and a mentor. “Juan Carlos [is a] very important person for me,” Alcaraz stated final yr.
Alcaraz in a apply session with ex-coach Juan Carlos Ferrero
/ Getty Images“On the professional side, on the personal side… [he’s] helped me a lot. When we are together, we will talk about everything in life, everything in our sport and about football, as well. Juan Carlos, I consider him a coach and a friend as well. So I can talk to him about everything in [my] personal life, too.”
Perhaps it was this mentorship that aided the younger participant’s angle in addition to his sporting prowess. As a baby, Alcaraz was identified for his tempestuous persona, throwing his rackets in anger, bursting into tears and refusing to go away the court docket after losses. Today he’s higher identified for his smile, even when he’s dropping — an outlook change he additionally partially credit to his psychologist, Isabel Balaguer.
“When I was younger, I was a totally different person,” he stated earlier this yr. “Probably I didn’t enjoy it as I’m enjoying right now. I was always mad, throwing the racket, complaining a lot. It was different. I started to calm myself, control my emotions. I started to enjoy playing tennis, enjoy a lot on the court.”
Today, Alcaraz’ group consists of PTs, therapists, docs and trainers, however he stays near the El Palmar neighborhood he grew up in, nonetheless visiting at weekends and hanging out with the identical mates he did as a baby, sitting with them within the park or taking part in board video games like chess — a eager pastime of his outdoors tennis.
“I love chess,” he informed Vogue earlier this yr. “Having to concentrate, to play against someone else, strategy—having to think ahead. I think all of that is very similar to the tennis court. You have to intuit where the other player is going to send the ball, you have to move ahead of time, and try to do something that will make him uncomfortable. So I play it a lot.”
Off-court, the tennis No. 1 can be a eager philanthropist (he has a charity to assist individuals with Downs Syndrome and auctioned his US Open-winning trainers to boost cash for native Downs charity Assido) and is a passionate fan of style and Real Madrid. Given his beginnings within the sport, he most likely considers cake fairly extremely on that checklist of passions, too.
Power, athleticism and ‘lightning in a bottle’
Alcaraz has the uncommon mixture of relative peak and athleticism
/ Getty ImagesThere has been one query on everybody’s lips since Alcaraz started to dominate the lads’s recreation: is he the following Rafael Nadal?
While the comparability is comprehensible — each grew up taking part in on the pink clay of Spain, are extremely athletic and are immensely likeable — Alcaraz’s recreation is best described as an alchemical combination of all of the traits which have made the Big Three shine.
While he primarily employs an aggressive big-hitting baseline type of play, with an emphasis on winners from his forehand, he’s additionally identified for his deft use of the drop shot. And, regardless that clay could also be his bread and butter, his wins on the US Open and Queen’s have demonstrated he’s a fearless all-surface participant.
“He hits the ball harder and with more topspin than even Nadal,” Andrew Castle former British primary stated to the Telegraph. “In real life it takes your breath away. When he plays – and when you see those muscles live – there is electricity in the air. The sense of occasion he brings is off-the-chart brilliant.”
The 20-year-old has drawn frequent comparability together with his fellow countryman Rafael Nadal
/ Getty ImagesHe additionally has the uncommon mixture of relative peak (he’s six foot tall) and athleticism, with mesmerisingly acrobatic footwork, permitting him to assault with precision at even probably the most essential moments. “It is what makes Carlos special,” Ferrero informed the New York Times final yr. “Many players like to compete but not so many look forward to playing the biggest points. Carlos does, and I think that is a very good sign for the future.”
Federer’s ex-coach Paul Annaconne describes Alcaraz’s recreation as “electric, like lightning in a bottle” and as soon as referred to as him probably the most full teenager he had seen.
Sneakers, Louis Vuitton and *that* Wimbledon bucket hat
Last week — lower than seven days after securing his victory at Queen’s — Alcaraz chalked up a win of a barely totally different nature.
He was named Louis Vuitton’s newest ambassador, with the French style home saying it was “delighted to welcome Carlos on this collaborative adventure ahead.”
Alcaraz has spoken previously about his curiosity in style, significantly dishevelled denims and classic Nike sneakers (he’s sponsored by Nike and have become the face of Calvin Klein’s underwear marketing campaign earlier this yr).
He has spoken of his admiration for the way the late Virgil Abloh blended sportswear with luxurious and for Pharrell Williams’ first assortment at Louis Vuitton. After discussing the opportunity of branching out into the sartorial realm with certainly one of his brokers, the dialog with Louis Vuitton developed rapidly.
“For me, Louis Vuitton is really a brand that I have always looked to and when the opportunity to work with the team arose, it instantly felt like a perfect partnership,” Alcaraz informed Vogue. “I was really invested from the start.
“I really want to know more about it and be more into fashion… I think it’s a very interesting world and it excites me.”
He has additionally been observed by none apart from Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, herself an avid tennis participant. “Carlos is very charming and very shy — both qualities that belie his rather monumental presence on the tennis court, where he is very fast and very powerful and quite charismatic,” she informed the Telegraph this week.
“Off the court, I know he’s been quietly paying attention to fashion, and I think we’re all excited to see what he and Louis Vuitton might do together — it’s a great match!” she added.
While Alcaraz has stated that his private type continues to be evolving, he has already delighted audiences together with his SW19 style, notably a bucket hat he wore to a media spherical on the All England Club final week. The official Instagram of the Championships even shared an image of him sporting the headgear, writing “We need to talk about @carlitosalcarazz’s bucket hat”. Yes Wimbledon, sure we do.
A beginner to grass — so may he beat Djokovic?
Despite solely having performed 11 matches on grass in his complete profession, Alcaraz continues to be the favorite going into this yr’s Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic is the obvious barrier to Alcaraz’s success
/ AFP through Getty ImagesAfter attending to the fourth spherical at SW19 final yr, he stated: “Now I’m thinking that myself could be a great player on grass. I got a lot of experience [this year] playing on grass at Wimbledon… But I would say I’m going to be a great player here on grass.”
While there have been some doubts final yr about his expertise on the floor, his victory on the grass at Queen’s is testomony to his adaptability.
Djokovic beat Alcaraz within the semi-final of the French Open this yr
/ AFP through Getty ImagesHowever, it actually received’t be plain crusing. Djokovic is the obvious barrier to Alcaraz’s success: he beat the Spaniard within the semi last of the French Open earlier this yr, on his path to clinching a file twenty third Grand Slam.
But Alcaraz has stated he’s assured going into the match. “I see Wimbledon as the most beautiful tournament on the tour,” he stated after his triumph at Queen’s.
“It’s a tournament that I really wanted to win someday. And I have a lot of confidence to make that dream possible this year.
“I just played 11 matches in my career on grass, so I have to get more experience, more hours. But obviously after beating amazing guys, and with the level that I played, I consider myself one of the favourites to win Wimbledon.”