The fast and furious rise of Carlos Alcaraz – and what makes the tennis star so great
While comparisons have been drawn to fellow Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz plays his own brand of bruising tennis. How good can he prove to be?
Tennis
It was just last year, in the early part of 2022, that a teenager named Carlos Alcaraz was turning heads on the outside courts of the ATP 1000 tennis event, in Indian Wells, California.
Not yet a household name, Alcaraz played his opening matches on Stadium 3, a venue that seats some 2,000 fans in temporary seats where in-the-know fans can get up close to the stars. It’s a venue so intimate that players stroll through a swell of on-lookers and then down a few steps to arrive onto the court.
The murmurs of “Wow, he is the real deal,” reverberated, especially as the then-18-year-old dismantled world No. 15 and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 6-0 in the second round.
He’d only play on the big arenas from there on out.
A few days later, Alcaraz engaged his Spanish countryman, Rafael Nadal, in a chaotic battle in the semi-finals at Indian Wells, a match Nadal survived in three sets.
By the end of the month, Alcaraz had captured the Miami Masters title and would soon secure his spot in the world’s top 10.
“The hard work has paid off,” Alcaraz told reporters after his win in Miami, over Norwegian Casper Ruud. “All my dreams, all the hard work, all the training, all the troubles, everything came to my mind in that moment.”
What came next for Alcaraz was more dreams: Three more titles in 2022, capped by his first major title at the U.S. Open and – astonishingly – the world No. 1 ranking, making him both the youngest and first-ever teenaged No. 1 in the history of the ATP.
So what comes next for Alcaraz in his quest for greatness? And, what aspects make him so great?
Is Carlos Alcaraz the next Rafael Nadal?
It’s a question that has reverberated as Alcaraz has become a teenage superstar, but the answer – in short – is simple: No, he’s not.
In playing style, Alcaraz is actually a frightening combination of men’s tennis’ “Big 3”: The fight and tenacity (and prowess on clay) of Nadal; the speed and consistency of Novak Djokovic; and the fierce offense-to-defense fire-power of Roger Federer.
“At the moment, he’s the best player in the world,” said Jannik Sinner, the rising Italian that many believe could become Alcaraz’s biggest rival over the coming years. “He beat Rafa and Novak [in Madrid, 2022]... everyone has to go their own way. He’s gone so fast [up the rankings].”
At 6-feet tall (183cm) and sturdily built, Alcaraz has what has become the pre-eminent tennis body: Tall and strong, yet nimble and with fast feet.
“What a gift to the game he is,” said Andy Roddick, the former world No. 1, on Tennis Channel late last year. “We didn’t realise he was going to be this good this fast,” added Roddick’s colleague Jim Courier, another former No. 1 – and Slam winner.
“It all clicked for him at the U.S. Open,” Courier said of Alcaraz’s maiden major win, where he would defeat Ruud again in the final. “Alcaraz’s game is ready for the big time, and I can’t wait for 10 to 15 years [from now] and what we’re talking about when looking back at his career.”
Carlos Alcaraz: The importance of Juan Carlos Ferrero
But to look to the future for Alcaraz you must pay attention to a name from the past that has helped him arrive to this moment: Another former world No. 1 and major winner in Juan Carlos Ferrero.
In 2017-18, Ferrero worked for several months with eventual Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev, but when the two parted ways, Ferrero took on a whole different project: Rising Spanish teenager Alcaraz, who at the time was just 15.
What caught the champion-turned-coach’s eye? A penchant for big-point play by the youngster.
“It is what makes Carlos special,” Ferrero told the New York Times. “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.”
What has been special, too, for Alcaraz is to have a mentor in Ferrero, who retired in 2012 and has not only served as a tennis coach for the youngster, but also a friend, confidante and advisor.
“Juan Carlos [is a] very important person for me,” Alcaraz said last year. “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.”
Carlos Alcaraz: Playing across surfaces
Spanish players will perhaps always be associated with the surface that they grow up on: Red clay. Nadal has been in his career, though he has achieved wild success elsewhere, as have Ferrero, another great in Carlos Moya and, now, Alcaraz.
In February 2020, at 16, Alcaraz won his first-ever ATP Tour-level match on red clay in Rio de Janeiro. Sixteen months later, he won his first title, in Umag, Croatia, also on red clay.
But his burst to the top of the game came on hardcourts in those aforementioned runs to the Indian Wells semis and Miami title, just six months before he blew the roof off of the tennis establishment with his U.S. Open triumph, also on hardcourts.
“I feel comfortable on both surfaces,” Alcaraz said of clay and hard.
Tennis’ most famous event, Wimbledon, is held on another surface, grass, and doubt swirled around Alcaraz in 2022, when he had only limited experience on the slick, low-bouncing surface.
He would make the fourth round, however, a strong showing, bowing out to Sinner in an entertaining four-set contest.
Moreover, he backed himself to become not only good on the surface – but great.
“Now I'm thinking that myself could be a great player on grass,” he said after the loss to Sinner. “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.”
Whatever the surface, tennis now sits back and watches: The sport knows he is great, but how will Carlos Alcaraz define that word in his own way?