‘Carlos Alcaraz has raised the bar and jolted the sport like no other’

Oli Dickson Jefford 28 Feb 2026 2:30 PM

Pictured: Carlos Alcaraz and Rick Macci.

ATP Tour star Carlos Alcaraz and and acclaimed coach Rick Macci.

Acclaimed tennis coach Rick Macci has heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz for pushing tennis to new heights after a landmark few years on the ATP Tour.

Alcaraz does not celebrate his 23rd birthday until May, but is already one of the most successful male players of the Open Era, winning seven Grand Slam singles titles to date.

The Spaniard is a two-time French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open champion, and started 2026 by lifting the Australian Open title for the first time.

Victory in Melbourne in early February made the 22-year-old just the sixth man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam in singles, and the youngest to have done so.

Alcaraz is also the youngest man to ever reach world No 1 in the ATP Rankings, having been 19 when he first rose to top spot after winning his first major title at the 2022 US Open.

He is currently the second-youngest man to spend 60 weeks atop the ATP Rankings, and his 60 weeks as the world No 1 are already the 13th-most of any ATP world No 1.

Alcaraz is not only the most successful male tennis player of his generation to date but is also the biggest star of his era, with a hugely dynamic game and amiable personality helping him win fans across the globe.

And, legendary coach Macci believes the Spaniard has been a game-changer for the sport.

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Writing on Twitter/X, Macci — who has worked with the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Jennifer Capriati — paid Alcaraz a significant compliment.

He wrote: “Carlos has raised the bar and jolted the sport like no other.

“From Pro level to club level he has brought a new level of chess delivering more not less with a complete style and a winning smile firing quick dips flips drops and pops and most of he ALL just loves to BALL.”

Alcaraz is currently unbeaten in 2026, having followed his Australian Open victory with an emphatic run to the Qatar Open title in Doha last week.

With a 12-0 record for the season to date, the world No 1 will now look to continue his winning streak at the opening Masters 1000 event of the season in Indian Wells.

The Spaniard will be the top seed at the tournament and is arguably the favourite for the title in Tennis Paradise, having lifted back-to-back titles in Indian Wells in 2023 and 2024.

Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev to lift the title for the first time in 2023, and then again beat the Russian in the 2024 final to defend his title.

However, his 16-match win streak at the tournament came to an end in dramatic fashion last year, with Alcaraz beaten by eventual champion Jack Draper in a topsy-turvy three-set semi-final.

That was just the third time he had been beaten at the tournament, after a round-one loss to Andy Murray on his event debut in 2021, and a semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal in 2022.

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