5 'youngest' achievements by Carlos Alcaraz at the age of just 21 ft. Youngest men's Olympic finalist in Open Era
Carlos Alcaraz is a phenomenal tennis player. At 21, he is already on the path to greatness and tennis immortality.
The Spaniard is a four-time Grand Slam champion currently and has also won five Masters 1000 titles. In the history of the sport, there are very few players who had achieved as much at 21.
Unsurprisingly, Alcaraz has several 'youngest' records in his kitty already. Let's take a look at five such records:
#5. Youngest Olympic finalist in the Open Era
Alcaraz booked a place in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday, winning 6-1 6-1 against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinal. He had defeated Tommy Paul, Roman Safiullin, Tallon Griekspoor, and Hady Habib without dropping a single set en route to the semifinal.
He thus broke compatriot Rafael Nadal’s record as the youngest Olympic finalist. Rafa had won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics as a 22-year-old.
#4. Youngest ATP 500 title winner
Alcaraz has broken another Rafael Nadal record by becoming the youngest man to win an ATP 500 title. Alcaraz won against Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in the final at Rio de Janeiro in 2022. He was 18 years and 9 months old then.
Nadal had held the record for almost 17 years, having won the Barcelona Open title at the age of 18 years and 10 months in 2005.
#3. Youngest man to win a Grand Slam title on each surface
This impressive record proves Alcaraz's versatility as a player. He won the US Open title (on hard) in 2022, the Wimbledon title (on grass) in 2023, and lastly, the Roland Garros title in 2024 (on clay).
At the age of 21 years and a month, Alcaraz had claimed a GS title on every surface.
Quite astonishingly, it is Nadal once again who had held the record previously. Nadal achieved the feat at the Australian Open in 2009, at the age of 22 years and seven months. Nadal had won multiple French Open titles and the Wimbledon title in 2008 before that.
#2. The youngest world No. 1
Alcaraz officially became the top-ranked player in the world after winning the US Open title in 2022. He beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 in the final. He was 19 years and four months old then.
Lleyton Hewitt held the record previously, becoming No.1 at the age of 20 years and eight months, in November 2001. Alcaraz, incidentally, has twice as many Grand Slams as Hewitt already.
#1. Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest year-end world No. 1
In 2022, Alcaraz became the youngest man to end a year as the World No.1 tennis player. As mentioned already, he achieved the milestone by winning the US Open that year.
The Spaniard remains the only teenager to have achieved that feat since rankings were introduced in 1973. Alcaraz has since lost the No.1 ranking but has gone from strength to strength in terms of winning Majors.