There’s no doubt that Carlos Alcaraz has had an incredible start to his career on the ATP tour. He’s an energetic, athletic, and powerful player who is running through almost every tournament he has played. Not only does he have 14 titles to his name so far, he has three major championships. That is very rare for a player his age who has only been playing professionally for a little over three years.
The “big three” of men’s tennis has an end in sight. Roger Federer retired in 2022 after he couldn’t stay healthy. Rafael Nadal has also been plagued with injuries for the last couple of years. Additionally, Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open due to a torn medial meniscus.
Djokovic is still a very strong player who won three major titles in 2023 but coming back full strength from a torn meniscus is very tough. Carlos Alcaraz has won against Djokovic twice so it has been shown that the 24-time major champion is not completely superhuman and can be beat.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Career In Comparison
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Carlos Alcaraz’s start to his career has been incredibly rare. To put this in perspective, Novak Djokovic won 11 titles in his first three years on the pro tour, including one major title. Roger Federer won 12 in his first three years, also with one major title. Carlos Alcaraz had 12 titles in his first three years, except that he has won not one, but two major titles.
The only player out of the big three that has won more titles than Alcaraz in their first three seasons was fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal who won 17 titles, including winning the French Open twice.
So, it is not crazy to compare Carlos Alcaraz to these tennis greats. He has gone pound for pound with many of their title achievements, including the number of major titles. In 2024, Alcaraz won the Indian Wells tournament, the French Open, and there are still two more majors to go this season. The young Spaniard is on track to have arguably the greatest start to a career that anybody has ever seen in men’s tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz is this generation’s Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer. In fact, he has the greatest aspects of each player’s game rolled into one play style. He has the dominance and winning ability of Djokovic, the athleticism, motor, and power of Nadal, and the finesse of Federer.
The 21-year-old simply knows how to play at a high level and how to win tournament after tournament. It’s incredible to watch him every time he plays. He is primetime tennis every time he steps on the court.
How Will Injuries Come Into Play?
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Will injuries derail Carlos Alcaraz’s career like they did for Federer and have continued to do for Nadal? That remains to be seen. Alcaraz has had his fair number of injuries already. The fact that he had a forearm injury recently and still won the French Open is even more impressive than his past championships.
Nevertheless, professional tennis has such a grueling season with so many tournaments that any player is subject to their fair share of injuries here and there. As long as it’s not prolonged, nagging injuries that players like Nadal have, Alcaraz should be just fine.
Spain has another incredible tennis superstar. Before Rafael Nadal could call it a career, another young Spaniard has come onto the scene and is making his mark on tennis history already.
Carlos Alcaraz is still only 21 and he hopefully has a long career ahead of him. It is still a little too early to tell if he’ll reach the number of major titles of Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer, but I would not rule it out. He is certainly on the right track currently. This kid is special and he certainly deserves to be in the conversation with the greatest tennis players of all time with the career he’s having so far.
About The Author
Cooper Sherman is an avid NFL fan and enjoys watching and covering it the most. The NFL is king. He previously wrote and was a podcaster for the online publications Pro Sports Fanatics and Jersey Column. He is also an NBA fan and watches it occasionally, more when the NFL season ends. Tennis is also an underrated sport to watch. His teams are the Patriots and Celtics, as tough as it is to be a Patriots fan right now. He is optimistic that Jerod Mayo will turn this team in the right direction! Follow him on Instagram and Threads @coopstershermy456, and X/Twitter @justcoopthings.
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