Carlos Alcaraz recently talked about his father’s role in shaping his glorious career. The Spaniard highlighted how the psychological lessons from his father included seeing tennis not just as a sport but as his life, also mentioning the reason why his father maintained a distance from him on the courts, refraining from mixing the role of dad and mentor.
Carlos Alcaraz hails from El Palmar, Murcia, Spain. His family holds a strong sporting history as his father, Carlos Alcaraz González, was a professional tennis player who achieved a world ranking of 963 in 1990. After hanging up his racket, Alcaraz Sr. became the tennis director at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia. This was a club established by Carlos’s grandfather.
Featuring in the S2 Episode 3 of Louis Vuitton’s Extended, Carlos Alcaraz addressed the unmatched role his father played in strengthening his career.
“My father, who used to play tennis when he was young—his passion, his life, is tennis. That’s what he taught me. Playing tennis with passion, with love—like it should be my life if I choose. You know, tennis is my life, so do it with passion. I think that’s a pretty good lesson that I learned from him,” Alcaraz said (3:10 onwards).
The four-time Grand Slam champion also mentioned how his father kept a distance from him during practice sessions. Although they would spare time to hit the courts during weekends, the rest of the days were focused on coaches and intense training.
“When I was eight years old, nine years old, on Sundays when nobody’s working, I asked my father, “Okay, let’s go to the club, hit some balls,” like one hour, one hour and a half. Sunday nights, Saturdays. But during the week, I had my coach, I had my group, and he never stepped on court when I was with them,” he said.
Stating the reason behind his denial to indulge in his training sessions, Alcaraz added:
“He always wanted to respect, the… let’s say the father’s role. He never wanted to mix, father and tennis coach. So, he always wanted to keep it separate, which is pretty good. And I think it helped me a lot.”
Alcaraz has always regarded his father as one of the biggest supporters in shaping his career as a young champ.
Carlos Alcaraz extends heartfelt tribute to coach Juan Carlos Ferrero
During the aforementioned episode of Extended, Carlos Alcaraz also opened up about the undeniable influence of his coach’s mentorship in his career. The World No. 3 extended a heartfelt tribute to Juan Carlos, who started coaching the Spaniard in 2019. Highlighting the unforgettable memories they made together on tour, Alcaraz said:
“Well, probably thanks to Juan Carlos I’m the player that I am right now. I learned a lot from him. At the beginning of our partnership, we spent a lot of time together. We travelled a lot, just him and me. And thanks to that I could learn a lot from him as a person, as a player,” he said (2:18 onwards).
After an unexpected defeat against David Goffin at the Miami Open last week, Carlos Alcaraz now looks forward to begin the clay court season. He is set to test his levels at the Monte Carlo Masters, starting from the 6th of April.