Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (born 5 May 2003) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Alcaraz has won twelve ATP Tour-level singles titles, including two major titles (at the 2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon Championships) and four Masters 1000 titles. Following his win at the 2022 US Open, Alcaraz became the youngest man and the first teenager in the Open Era to top the singles rankings, at 19 years, 4 months, and 6 days old.
As a junior, Alcaraz was ranked as high as world No. 22 and won two titles on the ITF Junior Circuit. After turning professional in 2018, he won three titles on the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour and four on the ATP Challenger Tour and broke into the top 100 in rankings in May 2021. Two months later, Alcaraz won his first ATP title at the Croatia Open, an ATP 250 tournament. He later entered the top 50 after reaching the quarterfinals at the following US Open and won the year-end Next Generation ATP Finals in Milan. After winning his first ATP 500 title at the Rio Open in February 2022, Alcaraz won his first Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open and his second ATP 500 title at the Barcelona Open in April, propelling him into the top 10. In September 2022, Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud in the US Open final to win his first major singles title. In May 2023, he was awarded the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award. In July 2023, Alcaraz won Wimbledon, defeating seven-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final to claim his second major singles title.
Early life
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia was born on 5 May 2003, in El Palmar, Murcia, Spain, to parents Carlos Alcaraz González and Virginia Garfia Escandón. He has three siblings. He started playing tennis at the age of four at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia (Royal Society Murciashire Club) where his father was the tennis academy director. In 2018, he began playing at Juan Carlos Ferrero's Equelite JC Ferrero Sport Academy in Villena.
Professional career
2020: ATP debut
In February 2020, at the age of 16, Alcaraz made his ATP main-draw debut at the Rio Open after receiving a wildcard for the singles main draw. There, he defeated Albert Ramos Viñolas. Alcaraz was defeated in the second round by Federico Coria.
2021: First title, Next-Gen Finals champion, top 35
At age 17, Alcaraz made it to the main draw of the Australian Open, making him the youngest participant in the men's singles. He won his Grand Slam tournament debut defeating fellow qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets before losing in the second round to Mikael Ymer.
Alcaraz became the youngest match winner in the Madrid Open's history, defeating Adrian Mannarino as a wildcard and breaking then-18-year-old Rafael Nadal's record from 2004. In the second round, he lost to five-time champion Nadal on Alcaraz's 18th birthday.
By winning the biggest title of his career until then at the 2021 Open de Oeiras III Challenger tournament, he entered the top 100 as the youngest player at the age of 18 on 24 May 2021.
At the French Open, Alcaraz reached the third round of a major for the first time in his career by defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili.
In July 2021, he reached his first ATP final at the 2021 Croatia Open Umag, defeating top seed Albert Ramos Viñolas. He then won his maiden ATP title by defeating Richard Gasquet and becoming the youngest tour-level champion since 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won the Delray Beach Open in 2008. Alcaraz was the youngest Spaniard to win an ATP Tour title since Nadal claimed his first trophy in Sopot in 2004.
At Wimbledon, he lost in the second round to Daniil Medvedev. At the Winston-Salem Open, Alcaraz reached the round of 16 defeating qualifier Alexei Popyrin, and his second tour-level quarterfinal of the season defeating fourth seed Márton Fucsovics. He defeated Marcos Giron to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Mikael Ymer.
At the US Open, Alcaraz defeated world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in a fifth-set tiebreak to reach the fourth round in the biggest win of his career. At 18 years of age, Alcaraz became the youngest man in a major fourth round since 17-year-old Andrei Medvedev at the 1992 French Open, and the youngest man in the US Open fourth round since 17-year-old Michael Chang and 18-year-old Pete Sampras in 1989. He then reached the quarterfinals by defeating qualifier Peter Gojowczyk. Alcaraz became the youngest US Open men's quarterfinalist in the Open Era, the youngest at the tournament since 18-year-old Thomaz Koch in 1963, and the youngest Grand Slam tournament men's singles quarterfinalist since 18-year-old Michael Chang at the 1990 French Open. He then lost to Félix Auger-Aliassime via retirement in the second set in the quarterfinals after injuring his leg.
At the Erste Bank Open, Alcaraz defeated world No. 7 Matteo Berrettini, his second win over a top-10 player, and became the youngest player in the top 35 on 1 November. During his Paris Masters run, Alcaraz defeated French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert in three thrilling sets in the first round. He then defeated Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the second round, his third win over a top-10 player. In the third round, he was defeated by Hugo Gaston in straight sets.
At the Next Gen ATP Finals, Alcaraz defeated Brandon Nakashima, Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, and Holger Rune in the round-robin stage. He beat Sebastian Baez in the semifinal, and Sebastian Korda in the final.
2022: First major, youngest world No. 1, and year-end No. 1
Seeded for the first time in a major at No. 31, Alcaraz reached the third round of the Australian Open before losing in five sets to Matteo Berrettini.
Seeded seventh at the Rio Open, Alcaraz won his first ATP 500 title by defeating Diego Schwartzman in the final. He entered the top 20 in the singles rankings on 21 February 2022. In Indian Wells, Alcaraz reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal and semifinal, defeating defending champion Cameron Norrie before losing to Rafael Nadal.
Seeded 14th at the Miami Open, Alcaraz defeated 6th seed Casper Ruud to win his first Masters 1000 title, the youngest men's champion in the tournament's history and the third-youngest ATP Masters 1000 titlist in history.
At the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz lost in the second round to Sebastian Korda. At the Barcelona Open, Alcaraz defeated top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals to enter the top 10 in rankings for the first time on 25 April. He became the 20th teen to break into top 10 overall since rankings were established in 1973, and the youngest since Rafael Nadal also on 25 April 2005. Alcaraz later defeated Pablo Carreño Busta to win the title.
A day after his 19th birthday at the Madrid Open, he defeated 5-time Madrid champion, world No. 4 and third seed Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals to become the first teenager to defeat him on clay. The following day, he beat the world No. 1 and top seed Novak Djokovic in the semifinals for his 6th straight top-10 win, and became the youngest player to win a match against a world No. 1 since 2004. He also became the first player to ever beat Djokovic and Nadal back-to-back on clay. In the final, he won his fourth title for the season (and second Masters 1000), by defeating defending champion and world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, thereby defeating the top three seeds in three consecutive matches. He also became the youngest champion in tournament history. As a result, he climbed to a career-high of world No. 6 in the rankings on 9 May 2022.
Following his withdrawal from the Italian Open due to an ankle injury, Alcaraz made his seeded debut at the French Open as No. 6. Having won two of the tour's biggest titles on clay coming into the Slam, he was widely projected to be one of the favorites for the title. He defeated Juan Ignacio Londero in straight sets before saving a match point in a second round five-setter against Albert Ramos Viñolas. He then defeated Korda and Karen Khachanov in straight sets before losing to Zverev, in the second major quarterfinal of his career.
At Wimbledon, Alcaraz beat Jan-Lennard Struff in a close five set match before defeating Tallon Griekspoor and Oscar Otte in straight sets, reaching the round of 16 for the first time at this major. He lost to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.
At the Hamburg Open, he reached the final, resulting in a new career-high of world No. 5 on 25 July 2022. Alcaraz became the youngest player to enter the top 5 in rankings since Nadal in 2005. He was defeated in the final by Lorenzo Musetti, resulting in the first loss in a tournament final of his career. At the Croatia Open, he reached his second consecutive final, resulting in another ranking jump to world No. 4 on 1 August.
Alcaraz entered the 2022 US Open as the No. 3 seed. He defeated Sebastian Baez, Federico Coria and Jenson Brooksby without dropping a set to reach the fourth round. Next he defeated 15th seed Marin Čilić in five sets, becoming the youngest man to reach back-to-back quarterfinals at this Major in the Open Era. In his quarterfinal match he defeated Jannik Sinner, saving a match point in the fourth set. The match set the record as the latest finish (at 2:50AM EST) and second longest match (5 hours and 15 minutes) in US Open history. He defeated Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals for his third consecutive five-set match victory. He defeated 5th seed Casper Ruud in the final, where both players were in contention for the world No. 1 ranking, to win the title. Alcaraz became the youngest No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings at the age of 19 years, 4 months and 6 days, breaking Lleyton Hewitt's record. He also became the first teenager in the Open Era to top the men's rankings and the youngest men's US Open champion since Pete Sampras in 1990.
In his first match as world No. 1, Alcaraz lost his singles match at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals to Félix Auger-Aliassime. Next, he lost to David Goffin at the Astana Open in his opening round. Alcaraz reached the semifinals in Basel, where he was defeated by the eventual champion Auger-Aliassime for a second time in the season. At the Paris Masters, Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals after defeating Yoshihito Nishioka and Grigor Dimitrov, but retired while being a set down against Holger Rune. A day later, Alcaraz announced he had suffered an abdominal tear requiring a six-week layoff, forcing him to end his season early. Alcaraz withdrew from the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals. Alcaraz, at the age of 19 years and 214 days, ended the year as youngest and first teenager world No. 1.
2023: 100th career win and Wimbledon champion
On 7 January, Alcaraz announced his withdrawal from the Australian Open due to a hamstring injury he suffered in his right leg while training. Following the tournament, he lost the world No. 1 ranking to the champion Novak Djokovic. He held the ranking for a total of 20 weeks.
In his first tournament for the 2023 season at the Golden Swing in South America, Alcaraz won his seventh title at the Argentina Open, defeating second seed Cameron Norrie. Defending his title at the Rio Open, he reached back to back finals where he played against Norrie again, but lost in three sets. Alcaraz was additionally scheduled to play in Acapulco in the month of February, but withdrew prior to the tournament after suffering another hamstring injury.
At the Indian Wells Open he recorded his 100th career win, defeating 31st seed Tallon Griekspoor to reach the fourth round, making him the second fastest player to reach this milestone after John McEnroe, and faster than the Big 3. After reaching the semifinals, Alcaraz defeated eleventh seed Jannik Sinner in straight sets in an anticipated match. Defeating fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the final, he won his eighth career title and third Masters 1000 title, breaking Medvedev's 19-match winning streak, and becoming the first player to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017. He additionally became the ninth and youngest man to win both legs of the Sunshine Double. As a result, he returned to world No. 1 on 20 March 2023.
In Miami where Alcaraz was the defending champion, he reached the semifinals having not dropped a set defeating Facundo Bagnis, Dušan Lajović, 16th seed Tommy Paul and ninth seed Taylor Fritz. This time he lost to Jannik Sinner in three sets. He dropped to No. 2 in the rankings having not been able to defend his previous year title points.
Alcaraz was scheduled to play at the Monte-Carlo Masters the following week, but withdrew due to post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscular discomfort in his spine. He began the European clay court swing at the Barcelona Open; defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, he successfully defended his title without dropping a set. He won his tenth career title at the Madrid Open again as the defending champion, defeating lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff. At the next clay court tournament, the Rome Masters, Alcaraz earned the opportunity to clinch the No. 1 ranking just by playing his second round match. Following his victory, he regained the top ranking from Novak Djokovic. However, he was upset in the next round by the world No. 135 Fabian Marozsan in straight sets, in what Jon Wertheim labelled the biggest upset of the year.
At the 2023 French Open, Alcaraz advanced to the semifinals. In a highly anticipated match, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in four sets, after suffering cramps at the onset of the third. Alcaraz and Djokovic had not played against each other in over a year, despite alternating between the world no. 1 ranking throughout 2023; Alcaraz would later claim the nerves of the occasion had partially led to his cramping. Djokovic regained the No. 1 ranking from Alcaraz, after he ultimately went on to win the tournament.
At the Queen's Club Championships, he recorded his first title on grass in only his third career grass court tournament, beating Alex de Minaur in the final. The tournament win in London also returned him to the world No. 1 in rankings. At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, as the top seed, he reached the final following wins over Jérémy Chardy, Alexandre Müller, Nicolas Jarry, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev. In a monumental match, Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets, ending Djokovic's run to win a fifth consecutive title, and securing the No. 1 ranking. With this win, Alcaraz became the second player, after Andy Murray, to defeat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final. Additionally, Alcaraz became the first non-"Big 4" player to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt's victory in 2002.
Alcaraz lost to Djokovic in a rematch of their Wimbledon final at the Cincinnati final. He lost in three sets, despite winning the first set, being 4–2 up in the second set, and having a championship point in the second-set tiebreak. It was the longest ever best-of-three-sets ATP Masters final and the longest match in the tournament's history, at 3 hours and 49 minutes. At the 2023 US Open, where Alcaraz was looking to defend his grand slam title, he reached the semifinals having only dropped one set. However, he lost to 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in four sets. Alcaraz dropped to No. 2 in the rankings following the tournament, as Novak Djokovic was not defending any points.
Starting the Asian swing at the China Open he reached on his debut the quarterfinals defeating Lorenzo Musetti to record his 60th win of the season.
Endorsements
Alcaraz is sponsored by Nike for clothing and shoes, and by Babolat for racquets, using the Babolat Pure Aero 98 racquet. In January 2022, he became a brand ambassador for Rolex. He is also a brand ambassador for dermocosmetics company Isdin, Spanish food company ElPozo, and German automobile manufacturer BMW under their BMW Spain division. In January 2023, he became ambassador for the American clothing brand Calvin Klein especially for their 1996 underwear campaign. In June 2023, Alcaraz became a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton.
Playing style
Alcaraz is an all-court, all-round tennis player, but primarily employs an aggressive baseline style of play, with an emphasis on a high winner count from his forehand, typically his most reliable and potent shot. He can either hit his forehand flat and fast for winners from every court position, or add a great amount of topspin and margin over the net. He also possesses a well-rounded and more flat and lower net-clearance backhand groundstroke that he is able to redirect down the line for clean winners. His greatly disguised drop shot is key to his game, as he often combines the heaviness of his groundstrokes that pushes his opponents back into the court into a defensive position, with a drop shot that is often too well-placed and disguised to deal with. He has an impressive net-game with great drop volleys and drive volleys, and frequently serves-and-volleys on crucial points.
Alcaraz has a strong first serve for his mid-sized frame which is commonly around 115 to 120 mph and hit with average placement. Alcaraz has a reliable second serve to which he can add topspin, in order to get a high bounce off the court and either push back or get a weak return from closer-returning opponents. This serve typically reaches 150 to 170 km/h (93 to 106 mph).
Alcaraz has earned acclaim for his athletic and physical traits. In particular, his direct sprints, counterattacking abilities, and an extremely high peak footspeed have garnered him comparisons to a young Rafael Nadal. He has been compared to Novak Djokovic for his assured lateral movement and court-coverage aided by physical splits and sliding through the court on defense, particularly on his backhand side where he is often able to neutralize his opponent's groundstroke aggression or drop shot attempts. Court coverage and exceptional touch have also been crucial in his success.
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
Current through the 2023 US Open.
Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 2 (2 titles)
Records
Open Era records
Awards
ATP Newcomer of the Year (2020)
ATP Player of the Year (2022)
ATP Most Improved Player (2022)
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year (2023)
See also
List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players (since 1973)
Top ten ranked male tennis players
List of Grand Slam men's singles champions
World number 1 ranked male tennis players (all time, based on recognized tennis authorities)
ATP Awards
Explanatory notes
References
External links
2003 births
Living people
Spanish male tennis players
Sportspeople from Murcia
Tennis players from the Region of Murcia
US Open (tennis) champions
Wimbledon champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles
ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players
21st-century Spanish people