The withdrawal of Rafa Nadal Leaves a flavor at the end of the cycle. Carlos Alcaraz He burst in just when the Mallorcan’s star was beginning to fade and at only 21 years old he is already one of the new leaders of this sport, but what promises come from behind the Murcian? Will there be a replacement for the best generation of Spanish tennis?
Because although the figure of Rafa Nadal has dominated everything in the last two decades, during this time Spanish tennis became accustomed to frequently having a dozen players among the 100 best in the world, several of them in the Top 20. At the end In the 2024 season, there will be six Spanish players in the Top 100, but Alcaraz will be the only one in the top 40.
Alcaraz was the youngest in history to reach world number one, the youngest also to win a Grand Slam title on all three surfaces, and the second tennis player in history to win his first four Grand Slam finals, something that I had only achieved Roger Federer. But even he feels the pressure of succeeding a giant like Rafa Nadal.
“If the young people or those of us who come from behind do not reach that level, it will be a frustration or disappointment for the world of tennis,” said Alcaraz after Nadal’s withdrawal during the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. “The legacy of Rafa is eternal. I don’t want to think that I should continue it: it is something difficult, almost impossible.”
And it’s not just Nadal, but soon Spanish tennis will also have to find relief for very notable players like Roberto Bautista (36 years old, top 10 in the world in 2019), or Marcel Granollers (39 years old, former world number one in doubles), to mention only those who are still active.
While Alexander Davidovich fight against injuries after having appeared in the Top 20, and others like Pedro Martinez o Jaume Munar (Junior Roland Garros champion in doubles, runner-up in singles) fight on the previous step, a new batch of promises appears on the horizon of Spanish tennis.
