Spain's Carlos Alcaraz is set to finish the year 2022 as the world's number 1 ranked tennis player at year-end at the age of 19, becoming the youngest ever to achieve the illustrious feat. After Rafael Nadal`s defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the ATP Finals 2022, Alcaraz rose to the top of the pile, and he's set to stay there until the start of next year.
Alcaraz surpassed the previous youngest-ever world number 1, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, who was 20 years, 275 days in age at the time of his crowning in 2001.
Whereas the Spaniard will be 19 years, and 214 days old on December 5, after the last ATP Challengers Tour events of the season.
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Born on May 5, 2003, in El Palmar, Murcia, his tennis journey began when he started playing at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia, his father was the academy director there.
The teenager made his ATP debut in February 2020, as a 16-year-old at Rio Open, beating Albert Ramos Vinolas, before bowing out in the second round.
Since then, Alcaraz has won six career tiles. It has been a phenomenal rise for the youngster who was ranked 32 on September 12.
According to ATP, this is the biggest jump by a player in 50 editions of year-end rankings.
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Alcaraz clinched his first-ever ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami.
During the Madrid Open in May, he defeated heavyweights like Nadal, Djokovic and then-world number 3 Alexander Zverev to clinch the trophy. But the biggest moment of this 19-year-old`s career came at US Open, where he was crowned as the youngest men`s singles winner at this major American competition since the 19-year-old Pete Sampras in 1990.
The teenager has completed this year with 57-13 record, which also includes nine victories in his 14 matches against Top 10 opponents.
With inputs from ANI
