Is Carlos Alcaraz really the next Rafael Nadal? Spain’s rising tennis star is already the world’s No 11 and a multimillionaire who has deals with Rolex and Nike – and he’s only 18

Apr 13 , 2022

Is Carlos Alcaraz really the next Rafael Nadal? Photo: @carlitosalcarazz/Instagram

Alcaraz’s idol is fellow Spaniard Nadal, one of the all-time greats, while he is now an ambassador with Rolex like another legend, Roger Federer

At the US Open in 2021, he beat world No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, while this year he became the youngest ever ATP 500 champion and won his first Masters 1000 title at Miami

Carlos Alcaraz (born Carlos Alcaraz Garfia) is the current talk of the tennis world. The 18-year-old just won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open and he’s been a hot topic since.

The Spanish tennis player and 2021 Next Gen ATP winner turned pro in 2018 at age 15 and has been quick to advance to the top of the game, earning an estimated US$3.8 million in prize money, according to the ATP tour website.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain poses with the Butch Buchholz Trophy after defeating Casper Ruud of Norway to win the men’s singles at the Miami Open tennis tournament on April 3. Photo: EPA-EFE

Here’s everything we know about the star so far.

The new Rafael Nadal?

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz with Rafael Nadal. Photo: @carlitosalcarazz/Instagram

Alcaraz has always referred to Rafael Nadal as his “childhood idol”, while the latter only has good things to say about the rising star. Comparisons between the two are inevitable, both being Spanish and having won big titles at a young age. Like his idol, Alcaraz also began playing tennis at the age of four and “shares [Nadal’s] fondness for clay courts”, notes Tennis Majors.

“At 18 or 19, Rafa was already a Major winner, and it’s nice to hear that he compares me with him at that age,” Alcaraz is quoted as saying on Tennis World USA. Alcaraz met Nadal for the first time at a second-round encounter on his 18th birthday at the 2021 Madrid Open. On ATPTour.com, he describes playing against his idol as “a dream come true”.

Carlos Alcaraz with Rafael Nadal. Photo: @carlitosalcarazz/Instagram

“I think [Alcaraz] is unstoppable in terms of his career,” Nadal told Tennis Majors ahead of the pair’s second meeting on the court, at Indian Wells in March. “He has all the ingredients. He has the passion. He’s humble enough to work hard.” Following Alcaraz’s Miami Open title win, Nadal congratulated him via his Twitter account, writing, “The first of many to come, for sure!”