When describing the playing style of Carlos Alcaraz many superlatives come to mind. Much has been said of his shot-making abilities, his talent, his athleticism, his speed, his feel for the ball, there‘s perhaps one line that can best describe him as a player:
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Alcaraz’s drop shots are a wonder to behold, arriving just after the net devoid of energy and ready to drop. They float delicately, very much like a butterfly. They are expertly disguised and the same preparation that can send a thundering forehand crosscourt can also send a whisper of a shot.
Alcaraz is one of the best movers on tour, if not the best. He takes the ball early and is able to hit winners from any position on court and this combination is perhaps the reason why he was the best stealer of points in 2023. One moment he’s running around defending, the next he’s roaring vamos. This is the magic that Alcaraz brings to tennis. The undefinable, unpredictable energy that explodes on court whether he is serving or receiving.
But perhaps the true magic of Carlos Alcaraz comes not from his many talents but from the childlike joyfullness that he brings to the game. He loves tennis, he loves to play tennis, and sometimes he loves playing tennis more than winning. This is the authenticity that he brings to the game, that he will go after a crazy shot because he feels like playing it, when a safer one could have sealed the game for him. During the Alcaraz-Nadal exhibition match that Netflix organised, one of the commentators mentioned that perhaps Alcaraz will tame that side of his game, that he will get more strategic in his shots as he grows more mature in the game. We saw hints of that during Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year when he was more patient, more deliberate in disrupting his opponents’s games. Luckily, that unbound energy still made an appearance and we saw moments of tennis genius on display.
It is our luck that we can listen in to this conversation between the joy of playing and the demands of competing and to wonder at what the future will bring. At this point one must say, all the talk of how many slams Alcaraz will go on to win misses the point. Enjoy the journey and the destination will come soon enough. It is too heavy, the weight of expectations, and at the moment all one can ask for is that Alcaraz remains fit and healthy, and let the rest come when it comes.