This Monday, October 17, was another marked day in the calendar of achievements of Carlos Alcaraz’s short career. At 19, the Spaniard has already spent as many weeks at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as other sports legends like Marcelo Rios, Thomas Muster and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Alcaraz rose to the top of the world ranking on September 12, 2022, after winning his first Grand Slam at the US Open, and has held his privileged position ever since. He shares the six consecutive weeks with Kafelnikov, who was at the top between May 3 and June 13, 1999.
However, Muster was in two different stages: from February 12 to 18, 1996 and, later, five more weeks from March 11 to April 13 of the same year. For his part, Ríos opened his first spell at No. 1 from March 30 to April 26, 1998 and returned for two more weeks between August 10 and 23 of that same season.
Alcaraz’s permanence at number one in the world has allowed him to leave behind his compatriot Carlos Moyà (2) and Patrick Rafter (1). The next challenger on the horizon is John Newcombe, as well as his trainer Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Both have been number 1 in the world for eight weeks. Interestingly, the Valencian also got it after the US Open on September 8, 2003 and kept it until November 2 of that same year. In the last breath of the season, Andy Roddick took away the possibility of being the best at the end of the season, something that only one Spaniard in history has achieved: Rafael Nadal.
That’s what Alcaraz is looking for this season, although there are still plenty of points up for grabs in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The record for consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is held by Roger Federer, who set the mark at 237.
Carlos Alcaraz shot in 2022
Former Spanish tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro recently spoke about her compatriots and current No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players: Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal. “Young players are coming and it is lucky that we have Carlitos, we should enjoy him and I think he will give us a lot of success in the future; Maybe he can be a replacement (for Rafael Nadal), because obviously Rafa continues, but we are in his last years,” she said.
“Yes, probably, he is a very complete player at his age. It is true that the players have a lot of room for improvement at 18 and 19 years old, Alcaraz too, but he is very, very complete. And, when I say very complete, I mean on a tennis, physical and mental level.
What I would highlight is his mental strength. At his age, he has saved match points in several of his titles. The team around him is also very important”, he observed.
