Carlos Alcaraz Garfia

Bio

Born on May 5, 2003, Carlos Alcaraz Garfia is a Spanish tennis player whose breakout success and meteoric rise to the top ten have garnered significant attention, with many drawing close comparisons to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Carlos was born in El Palmar, the most populous village in Murcia, Spain, along with his parents, Carlos and Virginia, and three brothers, Alvaro, Sergio, and Jamie.

Supported by his father, an avid tennis player and a former top-40 player in Spain, Carlos started playing tennis at the early age of three. His affinity and passion for the sport grew steadily, and he set lofty goals to be one of the best.

Rafael Nadal, his childhood hero, served as an excellent role model and a player whom Carlos followed closely growing up.

Carlos turned professional in 2018 when he was 15, playing Futures and Challenger tournaments. However, he landed his first shot on the ATP Tour after receiving a wildcard at the Rio Open in 2020. He won his first match but fell in the second round.

In 2021, Carlos found some early success as an Australian Open qualifier, again making it to the second round before suffering a loss. Shortly after, he won the 2021 Open de Oeiras III, a Challenger tournament, allowing him to break into the ATP’s top 100 for the first time.

Then, in July, he captured his first ATP title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open. After falling in the second round of Wimbledon, Carlos made his deepest run at a Grand Slam, reaching the quarterfinals before retiring from his match due to a leg injury.

By the end of 2021, Carlos had broken into the top 35 as the youngest player and closed out the year strong with a Next Gen ATP Finals win over Sebastian Korda.

2022

In 2022, Carlos quickly built on his success with four titles at the Rio Open, Miami Open, Barcelona Open, and Madrid Open. Although he reached the quarterfinals at the French Open, he eventually lost to Alexander Zverev. Shortly after, Carlos reached the fourth round at Wimbledon but fell to Jannik Sinner.

However, Carlos wouldn’t end 2022 without a bang, as he would defeat Casper Ruud in the final of the US Open to claim his maiden Grand Slam trophy while simultaneously becoming the youngest ATP world No. 1 in history.

2023

Carlos’ success has only continued to grow in 2023, with victories at the Argentina Open, Indian Wells, the Barcelona Open, and the Madrid Open.

He also made a semifinal appearance against Novak Djokovic at the French Open, where he lost in four sets due to severe cramping that wouldn’t allow him to compete at the highest level.

Heading into the grass-court season, Carlos kept his expectations in check, having minimal experience on the surface. However, he won his first-ever title on the surface at Queen’s Club, only to follow that up with his second Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in a tight five-setter.

Unfortunately for Carlos, Novak would get his revenge at the Cincinnati Masters, where he met him in the finals and lost in the longest three-set final in ATP history despite winning the first and gaining a 4-2 lead in the second.

Languages

Carlos Alcaraz’s primary language is Spanish, but he also speaks English fluently.