Suely Kawana

The meteoric rise of young Carlos Alcaraz to the top of the world rankings leads us to wonder who is this young man who never ceases to amaze us. Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Garfia turned 19 on May 5. He was born in 2003, in El Palmar, Murcia, to Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez and Virginia Garfia and has three brothers, Alvaro, Sergio and Jaime. Carlos started playing tennis at the age of 4, following in the footsteps of his father, who became one of the top 40 players in Spain and is currently the manager of a tennis club in El Palmar.

The young Spaniard is dating Maria González Giménez, also born in Murcia and who plays for Murcia Tennis Club. She doesn’t reveal much personal information on her social media, her posts show her enjoying a beach or playing a tennis match. But her Instagram followers rose significantly in a month, from 2,889 to 6,412. Tennis Tonic posted a photo of the couple, which was allegedly taken from the tennis player’s Instagram, but it no longer appears there.

One of the things that stands out is how he went from a skinny boy to a muscular man, who made the cover of the Spanish version of Men’s Health magazine in March this year, a day after making his debut in the top 20 of the world ranking. . After stopping in the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2021, in his first appearance at the American Grand Slam, Alcaraz has been working hard indoors to strengthen.

A day after making his top 20 debut, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz graces the cover of @menshealthESP. pic.twitter.com/zBJ6c2vZnd

— Jose Morgado (@josemorgado) February 22, 2022

At the US Open, after two matches in five sets, he had to give up against the Canadian Feliz Auger-Aliassime and saw the importance of having a more prepared body. He told ATP: “My team and I know how important it is to be physically strong. It was something we knew I needed to improve a lot. It was a big priority during the pre- season. I’m really happy. It gives me more confidence. I’m more likely to maintain my high level in a three or four hour game against the top players. There’s no doubt that Carlitos has worked hard “I love the gym. I focused on all parts of the body. I’m 100% focused on working out, my biggest priority being my legs. That’s very important.”

Carlitos, as he likes to call himself, is coached by former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 Roland Garros champion, who met him while playing in a children’s tournament. “There I realized his full potential,” commented Ferrero.

Carlos entered the World’s Top 100 list in May 2021. Alcaraz’s early outburst saw him set significant records on the circuit, becoming the youngest in history to be seeded in a Grand Slam, when he was 32nd in the ATP rankings, at the Australian Open in January this year, now culminating in arriving at the top of the world rankings as the new number 1.

Aged 19 years and four months, Alcaraz surpassed the previous mark of Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who took over at the age of 20 years and nine months in November 2001, replacing Gustavo Kuerten, as TenisBrasil reported on Sunday. . The pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero has equaled the ratings of Carlos Moyá, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, three other players who went straight from fourth place to number 1, the first two in 1999 and Sampras in 2000.