Carlos Alcaraz: The Number 1 Tennis Player In The World Is Spaniard

Who is Carlos Alcaraz?

At just 19 years old, Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz won the US Open this Sunday, September 11, his first Grand Slam. He went against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, in four sets that turned out like this: 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1) and 6-3. As a result of his historic win, Alcaraz became the youngest player to obtain the number 1 ranking in the world for men’s singles, a title that the Russian Daniil Medvedev had previously held. 

And if that wasn’t enough, the young athlete, who was born in Spain on May 5, 2003, also became the youngest tennis player to win the US Open, carving his name out amongst the many greats that have competed in the famous, international competition’s history. 

The final was held at the Arthur Ashe Center of the Flushing Meadows complex in New York. Prior to Sunday’s match, Alcaraz had recorded the most on-court time of any player in the tournament, after his previous two duels against Sinner and Tiafoe lasted over 5 hours each. Alcaraz entered the match as the betting favorite, but more importantly – a crowd favorite. Despite the obvious ware on his body, the young star boasted strong play, winning a close first set. While Ruud mounted a comeback in the second set, Alcaraz was ultimately able to overcome the strength and finesse of the 23-year-old Norwegian, forcing a tie-break in third, which he won decidedly, 7-1.

For the rising star from Murcia, the third set marked a breaking point in the match, as the young Spaniard proved his ability to persevere and overcome the mental adversity that plagues all tennis players, showcasing incredible maturity and mental fortitude given his age. From that moment forward, the audience could easily witness his confidence mounting and his level of play continuing to elevate to new heights. Alcaraz owned the fourth set 6-3 to become only the sixth Spaniard in history to achieve the number 1 ranking in the world, along with his compatriots; Arancha Sánchez Vicario, Carlos Moyá, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Rafael Nadal and Garbiñe Muguruza.

“This is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, to be the world’s number one and a ‘Grand Slam’ champion. I worked very hard for this and now I feel a lot of emotions. I’m only 19 years old and that’s why this is something really special for me,” said Alcaraz at the packed New York stadium before receiving the trophy from the historic John McEnroe.

“I knew, as they always say, that the final rounds of a ‘Grand Slam’ are not times to be tired, but to give everything on the court. And in those moments it always helps to think and feel the support of my family, who came to see me, although some of them had to stay in Spain,” he confessed.

And he recognized “the affection received from the first day. The first round was incredible and this was probably the public that generated the best atmosphere that I had to experience on a tennis court.”

“This is a super special moment for me, which I will never forget. And I must also recognize Ruud, because I believed that he had more chances to win because of his level of play, especially from the back of the pitch,” continued the young spaniard. 

The Spanish Tennis Player in Numbers

The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz boasts his status as the youngest world tennis number one in history, after winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open on Sunday.

The tennis player born in El Palmar, Murcia, on May 5, 2003, and was ranked 55th in the ATP ranking exactly one year ago when he made his first appearance at Flushing Meadows area, when he was eliminated in the quarterfinal round.

Since then, he began and sustained a rise based on his performance on the circuit. At the start of this season, he was ranked 32nd, and in late April he broke into the top ten, weeks after winning the Masters 1000 in Miami.

His climb to number 1 matches the quickest in history: the other three players who went from fourth place to the top of the ranking in one week were Carlos Moyá (March 15, 1999), Andre Agassi (July 5, 1999) and Pete Sampras (September 11, 2000).

Alcaraz is the fourth Spanish tennis player to occupy that privileged position since the creation of the ranking system in 1973, after Juan Carlos Ferrero (who is currently his coach), Moyá and Rafael Nadal.

Earlier in the season, he became the second-youngest player to win two ATP Masters 1000 titles (Miami and Madrid), trailing only Nadal, who achieved that milestone in 2005. He was also the earliest winner of an ATP 500 tournament at crown Rio de Janeiro.

With 51 victories, the Spaniard leads the statistics for the current season, in which he won 5 titles, including Rio, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid and the US Open, in addition to the first won last year in Umag.

There’s no doubt Spanish tennis players are excellent tennis players and that Carlos Alcaraz will be the face of the sport for some time to come. To know more about the Spaniard culture, don’t miss our opinion piece: Why Spaniards should not be call white Europeans?