Carlos Alcaraz: Why The Spaniard Was Not The Best Player in Both 2022 and 2025
Carlos Alcaraz is arguably the best tennis player of all time at the age of 22. Considering he has achieved six Grand Slam titles, eight Masters 1000 at an age when normally the peak of a tennis player doesn’t start, this is a hell of an achievement. Such standards have only been met by Boris Becker before.
Recently, Alcaraz secured the Year-End World No.1 for the second time in his career. The Spaniard edged his great rival Jannik Sinner in the final ATP Tournament of the season, i.e., the ATP Finals. However, despite the great achievement, there is another angle in which it can be seen that Alcaraz has not been the best player in the world in either of the seasons he has finished as World No.1 (2022 and 2025). Here is how we have dissected it
1. 2022- The Breakthrough Year
2022 was the season when Alcaraz went from an up-and-coming player to an established tennis star. So much so that he became the youngest man since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 to finish the season as World No.1. The Spaniard won two Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, while winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
However, the interesting thing is that he took advantage of the circumstances that surrounded him. In terms of Grand Slams that year, Rafael Nadal was the most successful player, winning two of the four Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
Moreover, Djokovic had his own vaccine scandal, breaking headlines on every news outlet. As the Serb refused to take the injection, he was deported from the Australian Open, which resulted in him losing 2000 points as the defending champion. Moreover, he couldn’t participate in the Masters 1000 events at Indian Wells, Miami, the Canadian Open, and Cincinnati. Lastly, he was also unable to get the green light for the US Open.
Djokovic won only one Grand Slam title, which was Wimbledon. However, there was also controversy in SW19, as the ATP Tour refused to award points because the tournament did not permit Russian players to participate amid the ongoing political tension in Ukraine. Djokovic closed the season in fine form, winning a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title. Still, his limited tournament schedule throughout the year prevented him from competing for the World No. 1 ranking.
2. 2025- The Best Statistical Season
In 2025, Alcaraz was able to bring something to the table that he had not done previously. The Spaniard became a consistent powerhouse throughout the summer season until early Autumn. From Monte Carlo in April till Tokyo in September, the Spaniard reached nine consecutive ATP Singles finals, which included three consecutive Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
Despite this unbelievable consistency, there was another player who was even more consistent than him this year, i.e., Jannik Sinner. The Italian machine has created unmatched consistency, failing to reach the finals of his contested tournaments on only two occasions (Halle Open and Shanghai Masters).
The Spaniard was consistent for eight months, but had a turbulent start to the season, where he lost in the Australian Open quarterfinals to Djokovic. So how come Alcaraz finished No.1 ahead of Sinner? Because Sinner was a master of his own undoing. The Italian was a subject to a doping controversy in the middle of last year. Consequently, the tennis authorities granted him a three-month ban between February and May.
As a result, Sinner was forced to withdraw from the Rotterdam Open and the Miami Open, where he was the defending champion. Moreover, he couldn’t collect any points from Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, and Madrid. Considering the difference between the two players is just over a 1000 points, Sinner could have easily added more than that number and beaten Alcaraz in the World No.1 battle. However, the Italian has only himself to blame.
Conclusion
Look! No one is saying that Alcaraz is not a great player or doesn’t deserve to be where he is. But statistically speaking, he’s not the best player in the world, like the rankings show. The truth is that he has taken advantage of the smallest sniffs of an ultimate prize.
