At just 18 years old, Carlos Alcaraz first appeared amongst the Top 10 players of the ATP rankings on Monday, April 25th, 2022. This date will likely go down in history, as the Spanish youngster is unlikely to vacate it any time soon. Alcaraz reached the milestone in the most impressive fashion, winning the ATP 500 in Barcelona after having to play both the semifinal and final in one day.
In Elite Company
To put into context just how impressive Alcaraz’s breakthrough here is, he will be higher-ranked when turning 19 than 17 out of the last 20 World No. 1 players at that point in their career. The only players ranked higher than him at 19 and went on to reach the top of the rankings were Boris Becker, Rafael Nadal, and Andre Agassi, which truly is elite company to be in. The likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were not close to having that level of impact on the tour as teenagers.
Alcaraz will be ranked 9th on his 19th birthday.
Not to imply anything — just out of curiosity — where the last 20 ATP No. 1 players were ranked on their 19th birthday (also on 20th and 21st): pic.twitter.com/iOByjAysjC
— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) April 24, 2022
On the other side of the coin, not all eight of the players younger than Alcaraz to reach the Top 10 lived up to the early expectations. The youngest player to ever reach the milestone, Aaron Krickstein, went on to only win nine ATP titles, never breaking the Top 5 or reaching a Slam final. Of the seven others younger than Alcaraz, only Andrei Medvedev never won a Major. Most of them, like Andrei Agassi, Bjorn Bog, and Rafael Nadal, are among the list of all-time greats.
It is impossible to predict the future, but what can be said for certain is that most players with the Spaniard’s resumé at his age end up Slam champions, and Carlos Alcaraz could definitely end up with multiple.
Main Photo from Getty.
