19 years old, millionaire and number one in tennis

We have seen him in countless incredible places through Instagram, Tik Tok, or even on the downtrodden Facebook: he is Carlos Alcaraz, the young Spanish tennis player who achieved an unparalleled feat in world tennis after reaching number one in the ATP ( Association of Professional Tennis Players), with only 19 years.

At this start of the week, Carlos Alcaraz leads the ranking of tennis players who have earned the most money in 2022, leaving Rafael Nadal in second place. The US Open, according to ATP numbers, has been accompanied by a check of 2.6 million dollars (mdd), so the final sum amounts to 7.4 million dollars won only in this last season.

Meet “Carlitos” Alcaraz, the new number one in world tennis, 19 years old

Possessor of an extraordinary physique and unparalleled talent, ‘Carlitos’ Alcaraz, as he is called right and left, achieved the greatest successes of his career under the tutelage of Juan Carlos “el Mosquito” Ferrero, a Spanish tennis player noted for winning Roland Garros in 2003.

His course for the courts The world began as a junior, winning two ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors tournaments, reaching number twenty-two in the ranking that enabled him to turn professional in 2018. He went on to win four on the ATP Challenger Tour, breaking into the top 100 of the ATP rankings in May 2018. 2021.

It was two months later that he won his first ATP Tour 250, the Croatian Open. In February 2022 he won his first ATP Tour 500, the Rio de Janeiro Open, and in April his first ATP Tour Masters 1000, the Miami Open.

This is how he reached his first Grand Slam after beating the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final of the US Open o United States Open, a triumph that made him the youngest number one in the ATP ranking in history.

“Congratulations, Carlos Alcaraz for your first Grand Slam and for number 1, which is the culmination of your first great season, which I am sure will be many more!” Rafa Nadal posted on his Twitter account.

“It is impressive what he has achieved as a 19-year-old player. Sometimes it is hard to believe that he is only 19. He is one of those talents that are rarely born in sport, ”acknowledged his rival, the Norwegian Ruud, at the press conference after the final.

This is how Carlitos Alcaraz, a native of El Palmar, Murcia, and born on May 5, 2003, rounded off an unforgettable season, and with his first Grand Slam under his arm, he said that “it is incredible to have that gap in history (being the youngest number one ever), but it’s harder to stay there for twenty years”, referring to the veterans of the ranking.

“It’s crazy, I never thought I would reach something like this at 19 years old, everything came very quickly, it’s something incredible, it’s something I’ve dreamed of since I started playing tennis,” he added.

“Obviously I am hungry, I want to be at my best for many weeks, many years, I am going to work hard, I am going to fight to have more,” added Alcaraz.

The Murcian tennis player started the season as number 32 in the world. Alcaraz, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the only players who have been “top 5” before their 20th birthday in this century.

Read more: Learn about Roger Federer’s path to the top of men’s tennis

For the ‘Mosquito’ Ferrero, Carlos Alcaraz has to keep improving

For his coach, former tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, winner of Roland Garros in 2003, the year in which he reached number one, his pupil “He is at 60% of his game, he can improve many things, we know he has to continue. Now that he’s number one, he has to keep winning, we know that and I’ll remind him of it.” Ferrero assured, after the triumph of Alcaraz.

“He has to improve the return, the serve, the backhand in certain situations, consistency, trying not to leave mentally. They are details that until one does not retire, all the players have to improve, “added the Murcian coach.

Ferrero and Alcaraz have been working together since he was twelve years old and arrived at the Equelite JC Ferrero Sport Academy run by Ferrero in Villena, Alicante.

“When he arrived at the academy he was a noodle, he had speed, but he didn’t have muscles, but we did see something very special in him,” explained the coach.

“I saw it for the first time when I was twelve or thirteen years old. He came to the academy and we trained one day, he was very young, but you could see that everyone was talking about him. He had everything he has now, but on a small scale,” he added.

That little tennis player currently measures 1.82 meters and weighs about 72 kilos, and leads a generation of promising athletes who are trying to replace the recently retired Federer, and the active Nadal and Djokovic, the great world tennis trio who are over 35 years old .

For Ferrero, both his pupil and the Italian Jannik Sinner are qualified to “dominate the ‘tour’ for the next ten years”.

After Alcaraz’s triumph, the world tennis ranking is led by the Murcian, followed by the Norwegian Ruud, Rafael Nadal, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, the German Alexander Zverev and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, in sixth position.

Finally, Alcaraz talks about his future: “I don’t want to compare myself to them, but it’s something I admire and that everyone wants to become. I am going to try to resemble them, even if it is a small part, ”said the new tennis number one.

Meanwhile, from here, we believe that at his age, he is already gifted. See for yourself…