The men's world number one seed is in action first on Centre Court today at Wimbledon, but we're not talking about Novak Djokovic. Despite the fact the Serbian has won the competition every year since 2018, he is not the highest-ranked men's player at SW19 this year. The title of world number one goes to 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.
When Andy Murray first appeared turned professional, Spaniard Alcaraz was just three years old. Here is everything you need to know about the rising star looking to make waves in the sport:
Who is Carlos Alcaraz?
- Born in El Palmar, Spain, in 2003
- First picked up a tennis racket aged three
- His father was a semi-pro tennis player
- Turned pro in 2018
- Won two Masters 100 tournaments in 2022 aged just 19
- Current US Open champion
- Trained by former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero
Carlos Alcaraz titles
- 2023 - five (Queen's, ATP Masters Madrid, ATP Masters Indian Wells, Barcelona, Buenos Aires)
- 2022 - five (US Open, ATP Masters Madrid, ATP Masters Miami, Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona)
- 2021 - one (Umag)
Tennis idol
His role model is Rafael Nadal, which comes as no surprise given they are both Spanish. The young man wants to emulate Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles.
"It is not easy being compared to Nadal, because both generations end up losing," Alcaraz told TennisWorld. "He is an idol and there is only one of him. I continue working hard to be a professional tennis player. I want to be like Rafa. My game is more like Roger Federer's, but my role model is Rafa because my game is more suited to clay."
He actually went on to beat Nadal this year for the first time in his career, and Nadal is a fan in return, saying: "I am happy for him, everyone knows the level of tennis he is capable of reaching. I’m really glad that my country has found another incredible player that Spain can rely on for many years."
How is Carlos Alcaraz number one seed at Wimbledon?
The youngster has played only 11 matches on grass courts, and is hoping to win Wimbledon this year. He announced himself as a genuine challenger to Novak Djokovic's crown when he defeated Alex di Minaur to win Queen's last month.
The victory saw him step in front of the 36-year-old legend to take the almighty number one spot ahead of Wimbledon.
This, coupled with the fact he has picked up five titles this year, explains why he is the highest ranked men's player.
He is the second-youngest man to take part in Wimbledon as number one since rankings began in 1968. Boris Becker was just 19 in 1987.
Men's ATP rankings
As of July 7 2023.
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Novak Djokovic
- Daniil Medvedev
- Casper Ruud
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Holger Rune
- Andrey Rublev
- Jannik Sinner
- Taylor Fritz
- Frances Tiafoe
Andy Murray is 40th.
