Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic; the ‘Big Three’.

Between them, these players have dominated the consciousness of men’s tennis for the last two decades, winning 62 Grand Slam titles (Majors) combined.

While former world number one Andy Murray and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka have put in their stints as serious challengers, fans have been yearning for a new superstar in recent years.

Come 2022, many feel that such a generational figure has come to the fore in 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.

Fans, analysts and fellow pros alike are all backing the Spaniard to become world number one and win multiple Slams, possibly even in the double figures, and potentially more than compatriot Nadal’s current men’s record of 22.

As Alcaraz’s results become ever more impressive, his ranking has skyrocketed.

Astoundingly, he has done so during, and in the wake of, major disruptions to the ATP Tour as a result of the Covid pandemic.

First, here is a look at Alcaraz’s progress so far in his career up until week commencing 27th June 2022. 

(NB Carlos Alcaraz did not have an ATP ranking between 24th December 2018 and 8th April 2019)

Alcaraz Image Credit: “Alcaraz”, by Volodymyr Tutko, licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Alcaraz recorded his first ATP ranking on 26th February 2018, a little over 226 weeks, or four years and four months, ago.

After breaking into the top 10 of the rankings for the first time on 25th April 2022, it had taken the teenager just 217 weeks, in real time, from his first ever ranking.

However, within that span the ATP Tour froze the entirety of the rankings from 16th March to 24th August 2020 as the tennis circuit ground to a halt with the rise of the Covid pandemic.

As such, Alcaraz actually broke the top 10 after 184 weeks, less than four years on tour.

In comparing Alcaraz’s early progression to that of the ‘Big Three’, we can actually see that the young Spaniard took the least time to break into the top 10.

In this case we are measuring from each player’s first recorded ATP ranking, as well as accounting for the frozen ranking hiatus experienced by Alcaraz during his rise to the top 10.

(NB Carlos Alcaraz did not have an ATP ranking between 24th December 2018 and 8th April 2019)

What makes this point even more astounding is that Covid did not just disrupt the tennis circuit.

The pandemic fundamentally changed how the ATP determined its rankings, something that is still having an effect two years on.

There were various adjustments to the ATP ranking system, but the most significant was the ‘best of’ system.

Normally, after ranking points have been on a player’s profile for a year, they automatically drop from their tally.

With the advent of Covid, tournaments that happened in 2019 were outright cancelled in 2020, not allowing players to defend their ranking points from those events.

In addition, once the tour did resume, travelling internationally at the height of the pandemic was risky and difficult, and the tour did not want to put that pressure on the players.

As such, they introduced the ‘best of’ ranking system that allowed players to pick and choose what points remained on their tally.

Essentially, if an event was played in 2019, cancelled in 2020 and played again in 2021, a player could choose to either hold onto all their points from the 2021 event or half of their points from the 2019 event, whichever was highest.

As an example, American pro Sam Querrey reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2019, for which he earned 360 ranking points.

He then reached the second round in 2021, earning 45 ranking points there.

So, entering Wimbledon 2022, just under three years on from the 2019 event, he still had 180 ranking points on his tally from the 2019 event, half of what he earned that year, but still a total greater than what he earned in 2021.

What this has meant for players like Alcaraz is that those ranked above him have been able to hold onto more ranking points than they would otherwise have, keeping somewhat of a ceiling on players coming through without that backlog of ranking points.

The calculations to determine where Alcaraz would be had it not been for the readjusted rankings are too complex for the scope of this article.

Nonetheless, it is clear to see for someone with a sharp eye on the sport that Alcaraz is playing at a level above his ranking.

ATP writer and editor Sam Jacot is one such person, tracking the tour all year round.

He said: “Alcaraz has been playing top three tennis since February.”

That is, since just after the Australian Open.

“In terms of level, Nadal would be first this year, Alcaraz would be second and Djokovic would be third.

“In terms of where his ranking would officially be without the Covid adjustments, right now he would probably be about fourth.”

At time of writing, Nadal has won both Grand Slam titles in 2022: the Australian Open and the French Open.

However, Alcaraz is the only player to have won multiple titles just below that level, tournaments known as Masters 1000 events.

He won in Miami on hard courts and later in Madrid on clay, showing versatility to win at such a high level on multiple surfaces.

Despite this, you may be wondering if rankings really matter in the grand scheme of the sport.

What players and fans care most about is titles, and Alcaraz has the ‘Big Three’ beaten in terms of time taken to claim a first ATP Tour title too.

He pipped his idol Nadal at the post by a week, claiming his maiden title on the clay of Umag, Croatia 150 weeks on from his first ranking in late July 2021.

Nadal claimed his first career tour title on clay as well, in Sopot, Poland, 151 weeks on from his first ATP ranking. 

(NB Carlos Alcaraz did not have an ATP ranking between 24th December 2018 and 8th April 2019)

More so than just titles, people care about the biggest titles, specifically the four biggest trophies in the sport, the Grand Slams.

“Alcaraz needs to do it at a Slam,” explained Jacot. “He needs to get to the final of a Slam for the wider public to really take notice of him.”

Seeded fifth at Wimbledon 2022, Alcaraz was the only top eight seed never to have reached a Slam semi-final before. Losing in the fourth round there, that wait goes on.

“He needs to get to the final of Slam, he hasn’t got past the quarter-finals before,” Jacot added.

“I’m being incredibly harsh on him. But it’s because his level is so high, he’s already done so much in the game.

“The expectations obviously go up with that.”

The post Carlos Alcaraz: How Covid has kept a lid on this mercurial talent appeared first on Tennishead.

Thanks for signing up to the Tennishead newsletter.

To show our appreciation here’s a free issue of Tennishead magazine’s digital version from March 2021

You can subscribe to Tennishead magazine or purchase the latest edition as a single issue in print or digital formats. We deliver worldwide

Tennishead March 2021

? Read >> Breaking tennis news

? Follow >> 24/7 LIVE scores

? Free >> Receive our legendary newsletter

? Join >> Tennishead CLUB, the world’s only virtual tennis club

? Social >> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube

? Order >> World’s best tennis magazine

? Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted retail partner

The post Enjoy a free issue of Tennishead magazine appeared first on Tennishead.

At Tennishead we are truly passionate about helping you enjoy your game even more, which is why we’ve carefully selected a number of leading brands and service we know will help you play better tennis.

All partners are personally chosen by Tennishead owner Tim and offer products or services that we know will be attractive to keen tennis fans like yourselves.

Here’s a quick list with more detail on each offer later on…

• 5% discount on tennis rackets, balls, shoes, clothing and bags with our favourite online tennis specialist AllThingsTennis.co.uk  Use code TENNISHEAD5 at checkout

• 10% discount on TopLevelTennis.com coaching videos from the likes of Boris Becker  Use code TH10 at checkout

• 25% discount on low calorie protein bars from VTMN.com  Use code TENNISHEAD25 at checkout

• 5% discount on tennis tickets and holidays with Courtside Hospitality  Use code TENNISHEAD5 at checkout

• 15% discount on all products from exciting new tennis brand FURI SPORT  Use code TENNISHEAD at checkout

• 20% discount on the world’s best tennis strategy coaching videos from BrainGameTennis.com  Use code TENNISHEAD at checkout

For great advice from true tennis experts you can do no better than visiting  AllThingsTennis.co.uk. Owner Ross is a friend of Tennishead and has built a great service offering the lowest online prices for all leading brands.

All rackets come with the option of a premium string upgrade and next day delivery.

5% discount on tennis rackets, balls, clothing and bags

Use code TENNISHEAD5 at checkout 

Designed to help you play better tennis, these professionally produced coaching instruction videos are of the highest quality and feature legendary coaches such as Wolfgang Thiem, father and coach to Grand Slam winner Dominic Thiem, alongside some of the greatest names to have played the game like Boris Becker and former World No.4 Dominika Cibulkova.

Marco Panichi also offers a course. Marco has been Novak Djokovic’s fitness trainer for his whole career.

10% discount on TopLevelTennis.com

Use code TH10 at checkout 

VTMN are the new kid on the block for sports nutrition and their premium, no-fuss formulas blend evidence-based research and nootropic science to create clean solutions that offset the challenges of a busy, urban lifestyle.

Their products have been carefully formulated to support a variety of needs, while combating the mental and physical burnout of being on-the-go whilst their formulas support common areas of health and bodily systems including: the immune system, vision, gut, muscles, skin, bone, male health and female health.

25% discount from VTMN.com

Use code TENNISHEAD25 at checkout 

Courtside Hospitality transformed their passion for tennis into a business and are now on a mission to create luxury tennis experiences for fans all over the world.

Providing expert knowledge and excellent service, they offer the flexibility to create a tailor-made trip from scratch including extras such as cruises, attraction tickets, behind-the-scenes tours and more.

5% discount with Courtside Hospitality

Use code TENNISHEAD5 at checkout 

FURI Sport is a New York City based tennis equipment and fashion lifestyle brand for the modern consumer. Their starting point is high-performance, game-changing tennis racquets, apparel, and accessories that take players from the court to the street.

FURI Sport are challenging long-held conventions and inequalities surrounding the culture of sport.

15% discount on all products from FURI SPORT

Use code TENNISHEAD at checkout 

Craig O’Shannessy is the world’s leading tennis strategy analyst and a long time friend of Tennishead. He’s worked with Novak Djokovic and Wimbledon and now he’s transported that expertise into Brain Game Tennis.

These online courses are the only tennis strategies out there that use data to back up the lessons.

20% discount from BrainGameTennis.com

Use code TENNISHEAD at checkout 

? Read >> Breaking tennis news

? Follow >> 24/7 LIVE scores

? Free >> Receive our legendary newsletter

? Join >> Tennishead CLUB, the world’s only virtual tennis club

? Social >> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube

? Order >> World’s best tennis magazine

? Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted retail partner

The post Tennis discount offers from Tennishead appeared first on Tennishead.

World No.1 puts in the hard yards during grass court practise and shows off his compeltely new outfit for the 2019 grasscourt season

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed a elit velit. Nulla ornare, odio in pharetra volutpat, elit leo ultrices sem, laoreet condimentum turpis mi in justo. Suspendisse eget ultricies ante. Suspendisse tincidunt faucibus tortor sit amet egestas. Phasellus at enim et velit placerat ullamcorper quis eu massa. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean nisi justo, vulputate sit amet nulla non, consequat gravida metus. Aliquam eget consequat nunc.

Donec libero massa, pellentesque non sapien sit amet, accumsan tincidunt risus. Sed nibh lacus, feugiat ut ante nec, cursus ullamcorper sapien. Pellentesque augue nunc, lobortis at sapien a, semper condimentum mauris. Nunc nec convallis erat, in consequat libero. Donec laoreet, nibh dignissim mollis consequat, quam nisl aliquet felis, et lobortis nisi odio ut quam. Etiam non arcu sed sapien facilisis convallis ut eu sapien. Nunc dictum vulputate enim. Quisque a quam pharetra, faucibus metus non, viverra magna.

Tennishead Gear Finder

Play and look like Novak this Summer by simply clicking the links below to grab your own slice of the ‘Serbinator’

Aliquam rutrum ipsum sed velit lacinia, at pulvinar odio faucibus. Morbi egestas molestie odio, non congue diam rhoncus et. Donec hendrerit pulvinar nunc ut eleifend. Donec quis blandit augue. Nullam ex ante, laoreet ac consectetur sed, efficitur vitae felis. Duis vehicula sapien sed ante volutpat sodales vel vel orci. Praesent cursus tellus sed imperdiet porttitor. Donec facilisis blandit ipsum ut congue. Vivamus imperdiet tincidunt efficitur. Aliquam efficitur libero at scelerisque condimentum. Vivamus nisl massa, laoreet sed varius a, aliquam in dolor. Vestibulum quis accumsan lacus. Integer tincidunt est ut odio posuere, vitae lacinia mauris consectetur. Suspendisse felis lacus, fringilla et egestas sed, commodo sed mi. Nam quis turpis dictum, pretium leo tempus, vehicula mauris.

Donec ultrices nunc ut commodo mollis. Quisque ante est, ornare id ante facilisis, efficitur pharetra sem. Duis egestas mauris non lorem vehicula, eget rhoncus sem ullamcorper. Pellentesque et neque eleifend, posuere odio vel, tempor est. Pellentesque condimentum quam nunc, vitae pellentesque massa accumsan ac. Sed sit amet pellentesque ipsum, eu congue magna. Maecenas in posuere enim. Morbi lobortis lorem enim, non vulputate felis feugiat in. Quisque malesuada, erat egestas venenatis facilisis, diam eros pulvinar sem, sed ullamcorper tellus ipsum eu nisi. Vivamus accumsan sagittis elit, sagittis feugiat augue venenatis id. Donec pulvinar dapibus nibh ultricies pharetra. Nullam et ex malesuada, dictum lectus vel, commodo tortor. Vivamus egestas pharetra ornare. Nunc ac magna pharetra, maximus dolor et, tempor orci. Morbi nec mauris placerat lectus blandit luctus. Cras vel orci at lectus pharetra vestibulum.

The post Djokovic prepares for Wimbledon 2019 with training camp on grass appeared first on Tennishead.