When Carlos Alcaraz fell to the ground in disbelief after winning one of the greatest Wimbledon finals, his celebrations not only cemented his place in tennis history. This iconic moment marked a milestone in his career and the sport, unleashing excitement among fans and leaving an indelible mark on the tournament.
The Spanish sensation, who last year became the youngest ever world number one in men’s tennis at 19 years and four months after winning his first grand slam at the US Open, could also be destined to achieve billionaire wealth. With his outstanding talent and continued successes, Alcaraz is on course to become one of the most influential and financially successful figures in the sport.
Carlos Alcaraz’s beaming smile, natural charm and humble roots make him a marketing dream; he has already been compared to the likes of David Beckham, whose fame transcended his sport. Andrew Castle, a former British number one and BBC commentator, says “the sky is the limit” for the 20-year-old following his Wimbledon final victory against defending champion Novak Djokovic, widely regarded as the greatest of all time with a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
The rise of Alcaraz, with his blistering 130mph serve, powerful groundstrokes and deft drop shots, is being hailed as a changing of the guard moment in tennis. Castle, 59, told The Sun: “You can’t take on Djokovic unless you’re the real deal, and it was a great moment.”
“The tennis world is excited about Carlos but he has the opportunity to go beyond tennis because there is something incredibly likeable about him.
“He’s a healthy kid, a really good guy and a lot of energy, and his tennis is exciting.
Kebab shop
“He does not come from a privileged background.
“It has the potential to be bigger than sport, people love it.
“Carlos is on his way to becoming one of the highest-earning athletes in history.
“At 20 years old, with everything he has done now, why wouldn’t he make a billion dollars?”
Castle first met Alcaraz at the Wimbledon Champions Dinner on Sunday night, where the champion appeared in a tuxedo.
And having watched Djokovic — as well as now-retired Swiss great Roger Federer, 41, and injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal, 37, each rake in megamillions — he believes Carlos can put an even bigger smile on his bank manager’s face.
Federer’s 20 Grand Slams, including eight Wimbledons to Djokovic’s seven, helped him rack up an estimated £442m before he hung up his white RF-monogrammed jacket.
But Castle said of the new king: “When Charles walks into a room, people know he’s there.
“I’ve seen it and it’s exciting.
“On stage, during the Champions Dinner, he delighted everyone.
“He was very respectful to me as an interviewer.
“He remembers people’s names, can command a room and make everyone feel good.”
Before Wimbledon, her net worth was said to be as high as £7m thanks to deals with Rolex, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, BMW and racket manufacturer Babolat.
But that will be dwarfed by the £30m he is projected to earn in new deals this year.
The Nike Wimbledon hat she used to sport during interviews at the tournament soon flew off the shelves.
It’s no wonder Carlos, who is said to be dating Spanish beauty and tennis enthusiast Maria Gonzalez Gimenez, is now being compared to Becks, 48.
“Goldenballs” won countless football awards, but became as famous for his marriage to Spice Girls star Victoria as for his day job.
However, once he has finished celebrating his latest feat, Alcaraz will return to his parents’ £170,000 flat above a kebab shop in El Palmar.
In a previous interview he said movingly: “Until very recently I didn’t consider myself a famous person and I get nervous around practically every famous person I meet.”
‘The happiest moment of my life’
Charles’ Wimbledon triumph was watched by Spain’s King Felipe VI, the Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and celebrities including film royalty Brad Pitt, Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig.
As he climbed the stairs to his player’s box at his moment of victory, he was greeted by his family, including his parents Carlos Snr and Virginia, his older brother Álvaro, his younger brother Jaime, as well as coach and former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, agent Alberto Molina and physiotherapist Juanjo Moreno.
The tears that flowed reflected her journey since her talent was first discovered in the village of El Palmar in Murcia, Spain.
He described his victory, in front of an estimated 60 million television viewers in the UK and US alone, as the “happiest moment of my life” – and rightly so after becoming the youngest Wimbledon men’s champion since 17-year-old German Boris Becker in 1985.
But although he won £2.3m in prize money at Wimbledon (and wore a £50,000 Rolex watch as he lifted the golden trophy), he knows his career was almost over before it began.
A key moment came when his parents could not afford to send their little “Carlitos”, as they still call him, to an under-10 world championship in Croatia.
‘He delighted everyone’
They also paid for the upbringing of their brothers, Álvaro, Jaime and Sergio.
But the Murcia-based confectionery company Postres Reina paid 2,000 euros for the trip (Carlos reached the final) and then continued to sponsor him.
One of Carlos’ first coaches, Kiko Navarro, recently said of that trip: “It was expensive, but it was a good foundation.”
Navarro had discovered Carlos’s talent early on.
He said: “This child, at four or five years old, was spectacular.”
But contradicting the ace’s cheerful disposition on the court, Navarro added: “Carlos had a great temperament.
“He didn’t like to lose.
“When we were traveling around the world and he lost a game, we had to leave him for a while because he would cry.
“He was a bad loser.”
Carlos himself admits: “When I was younger, I was a totally different person.
“I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I do now.
“I was always angry, throwing the racket, complaining.”
But he added: “I started to calm down, to control my emotions. I started to enjoy myself.”
Since turning pro in 2018, he has taken the sport by storm with his daring shots and impressive speed on the court.
A day after his 19th birthday at the Madrid Open, he became the first teenager to defeat clay-court king Nadal on his favourite surface in the quarter-finals.
The next day, he dispatched Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Then, last September, she topped the rankings for the first time after winning the US Open.
Doubts arose when he lost to Djokovic in four sets at this year’s French Open after suffering cramps.
But he bounced back with a stellar grass-court season, despite being a relative novice on the surface, with a win at the Queen’s warm-up event followed by the big one.
