ATP Tour
Alcaraz’s exploits that occurred first in his mind
His career has been a constant search for the next big dream. What’s next after Australia? Tribute to a pure manifestor
February 01, 2026
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Carlos Alcaraz is the sixth player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win all four Grand Slams.
by this ATEDIDE ATP
Many times they called him crazy. Just to dream big. But Carlos Alcaraz is also the example that you can have ambition without fear. Without fear of failure, success and the responsibilities that both bring. It is also the example that objectives can be publicly confessed. No matter how impossible they may seem to achieve.
Since he was a child he made it clear in one of the first interviews of his life, while playing in an under 13 tournament in Paris. “I would like to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon,” he said with a seriousness and conviction rare in someone his age. I was 12 years old. It turned out to be a prophecy: he has won each tournament twice.
And when he became a professional, in 2018, his goals did not stop aiming for the highest.
“My goals in 2021 are to play Roland Garros, be in the Top 100 and finish the season within the Top 50,” he told the ITF at the beginning of 2021, when he was 17 years old and outside the Top 140. Every wish was fulfilled. And to spare. In fact, at the end of the year he was ranked No. 32 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
And his career has also been a constant surpassing of his own expectations. In 2022, for example, he only set out to finish the year in the Top 10. For many it was hasty: after all, at the start of that season, he only had the Umag ATP 250 title on his record. But for Alcaraz it was a sensible dream as he was aware of his potential.
He was right. So much so that in April he had already debuted in the top ten and in September he became the youngest player to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings thanks to his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. He was 19 years old.
His ambition has only grown since then. That is why he has spoken of his hope of being on par with the members of the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) at the end of his career. For now he has shattered several records of the three. To begin with, the Murcian has more Grand Slam titles (7) than each member of the Big 3 had at the same age.
Samuel López’s pupil seems to be going in the right direction. And not just for dreaming big. Also for knowing how to get up when some objectives were left unfinished.
In March 2023, for example, he said in a press conference at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami that his main objective was to win Roland Garros. And in 2024, he aimed to finish the season at year-end No. 1, an honor presented by PIF. Both objectives remained unfinished. But twelve months later he added them to his record.
What he proposes, Carlitos sooner or later accomplishes it. That has been Alcaraz’s constant. With determination and a lot of work invested, it eventually fulfills itself.
And Alcaraz’s greatest case of manifestation has been the 2026 Australian Open. He was so eager to conquer it that he even declared at the end of 2025 that he would prefer to win Australia than two different Grand Slams for the following season. What’s more, when he was asked days ago if he preferred to be crowned Australian champion than win the other three majors, his inclination to conquer Melbourne Park at all costs was also clear.
“I don’t know which one I would choose. But obviously, completing the Grand Slam and being the youngest to do it would be great,” he said at the time.
No sooner said than done. On Sunday he became the youngest player in history to win each of the four Grand Slams, at just 22 years old. To put it in perspective: Nadal achieved it at 24 years old, Federer at 27 and Djokovic at 29.
“Every year I came to Australia I thought about winning the trophy. But I couldn’t get past the quarterfinals. This year I arrived wanting more, with the ambition to win the trophy and with enough mental strength,” he said this Sunday.
The dream of getting a kangaroo tattoo if he achieved it will soon become a reality, and will be accompanied by tattoos of the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, a strawberry in honor of the Wimbledon conquests and 09/11/22 for his first promotion to No. 1. His skin is the proof that Carlitos has traveled the path proposed by his dreams.
What is the next thing to accomplish? The Spaniard said it on Sunday: “I’m already thinking about Roland Garros.” Surely the dream of becoming the first male player since Rod Laver in 1969 to reach the calendar Grand Slam is already on his mind. Will he make it? The truth is that Carlitos’ next big dream cannot be underestimated. Never.
