Carlos Alcaraz, the young tennis star who won big at Wimbledon

Tennis phenom Carlos Alcaraz captivated sports fans during the men's Wimbledon final on June 16. The 20-year-old Spaniard was up against seven-time champ Novak Djokovic and defeated him in five sets after an error-filled start gave way to a thrilling victory.

Sports site The Athletic declared the match, which at four hours and 42 minutes was the third-longest final in Wimbledon history, an "instant classic" and Alcaraz's win "seismic." His performance was "brilliant" and "gutsy," ESPN's Alyssa Roenigk raved, and his opponent applauded his performance. "I must say, the slices, the chipping returns, the net play — it's very impressive," Djokovic said after the final. "I didn't expect him to play so well this year on grass, but he's proven that he's the best player in the world, no doubt. He's playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces, and he deserves to be where he is."

A star from the start

Alcaraz grew up in the Spanish village of El Palmar, where his father, a one-time semiprofessional player, ran a tennis academy. He was given his first tennis racket at just 3 years old and learned how to play alongside his three brothers. Alcaraz soon dazzled on the court, with one of his early coaches, Kiko Navarro, telling The Guardian that "this kid at 4, 5 years old was spectacular. I knew from a very young age that he was incredible. I'm not going to say that I was thinking he was going to be world No. 1, but I knew that I had a really good and different player on my hands."

It didn't take long before Alcaraz was playing in tournaments, and he's quick to admit that in his early days he had a hot temper. "When I was younger, I was a totally different person," he told The Guardian. "Probably I didn't enjoy it as I'm enjoying right now. I was always mad, throwing the racket, complaining a lot. It was different. I started to calm myself, control my emotions. I started to enjoy playing tennis, enjoy a lot on the court."

Part of his early success was due to others believing in his potential. Tennis can be expensive, and his family did not have the money to do a lot of traveling for tournaments. Navarro asked a friend who worked for the confectionary company Postres Reina to fund Alcaraz's travel to a championship match in Croatia, and when he won, Postres Reina agreed to keep paying for his trips. Today, the company is still his sponsor.

"The sky's the limit"

Alcaraz turned pro in 2018 and since then has been coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero, who won the French Open in 2003, the same year Alcaraz was born. "He's different than me," Ferrero told the Tennis Channel. "I'm, like, very focused all the time, very restrictive. And he's more relaxed. If there's a problem, I'd want to know the solution in advance. … He'll want to figure it out and solve it [on the spot]." One major part of coaching Alcaraz is "warning him about all the dangers that [come with] being No. 1 in the world," he added. "There's a lot of people who want to be close to him."

While the Wimbledon win was a huge one for Alcaraz, it wasn't his first Grand Slam title. He won the U.S. Open in 2022 and is expected to defend his title again this year. Already, there are predictions the final will be an Alcaraz-Djokovic rematch, with ESPN's D'Arcy Maine saying Alcaraz gave an "unbelievable performance at the All England Club," and he's entering the U.S. Open with "the momentum, the confidence, and let's not forget the game to win it (again), and I think he'll do just that." Her colleague Bill Connelly noted that with Alcaraz already knowing what it takes to defeat Djokovic, "the sky's the limit" for him.

The Wimbledon final proved Alcaraz is a worthy challenger of Djokovic, The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare wrote, and he has charisma, youth and talent on his side. He believes Alcaraz possesses "never-before-seen gifts" that will elevate him at a time when tennis needs more stars. With big names like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Venus Williams either retired or about to hang up their rackets, there needs to be someone who can step into their shoes, and "Alcaraz has the potential to be that kind of attraction, both for the purists and tennis obsessives and the more casual supporters."

Playing in the final at Wimbledon was "a dream come true for me," Alcaraz told Today, and even when he struggled out of the gate and it looked like he might lose to Djokovic in straight sets, he made sure not to mentally give up. "I just believe in myself all of the time," he said.