"Not in a world where Monica Seles exists";"The recentism is ridiculous " - Fans reject Carlos Alcaraz being named 'greatest 21 year-old' in tennis

Tennis fans recently disputed the claim that Carlos Alcaraz is the "greatest 21-year-old" tennis has ever seen, following his title win at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The World No.3 secured his fourth Grand Slam title at the grasscourt Major.

Alcaraz defeated second seed Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) at Centre Court to successfully defend his title at Wimbledon. With this win, he secured his second Major title of the season, with his first coming at the 2024 French Open where he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final

With this win, Alcaraz achieved the Channel Slam, becoming the youngest man in the Open Era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in a single season. He also became just the second man in the Open Era to win his first four Grand Slam finals, following Roger Federer who won his first seven finals.

The title win at SW19 this year along with his other achievements to date, led a tennis journalist to declare Carlos Alcaraz as the "greatest 21-year-old" player tennis had ever seen.

However, not all tennis fans agreed with the journalist's assessment. Many took to social media to express their differing opinions

One fan argued that Carlos Alcaraz cannot be considered the greatest 21-year-old when players like Monica Seles exist.

"Not in a world where Monica Seles exists," a fan posted.

Another fan pointed out that Seles had won more Grand Slam titles by the age of 20 than Alcaraz has at 21. They also stated that while they admired the Spaniard, they found the recent hype surrounding him to be excessive .

"Pretty sure Monica Seles had about 10 Slams by age 20, but ok. (Also, Becker winning 2 Wimbledons by 18, Hingis almost doing the Grand Slam when she was 16/17, etc…) Love Carlos but the recentism is ridiculous," a fan wrote.

Others suggested that while Carlos Alcaraz may be the greatest 21-year-old "male" player, female players like Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, and Martina Hingis had achieved far more by the same age.

"Greatest 21 year old (male) tennis player. If you however compare apples ( men) to oranges(women) then no……he is not the greatest. Monica Seles was the greatest," a fan posted.

"Andy Murray voice: “male player” Graf had won a golden slam while still a teenager! Hingis, Seles etc," a fan wrote.

Several fan said that Monica Seles had already won eight Grand Slam titles before turning 20, which is double the number Alcaraz has won.

"Will be hard to beat Monica Seles's record for anyone. She was the queen!" a fan posted.

"Monica Seles had double his tally," a fan wrote.

"Steffi Graf had 9 grand slams (all surfaces) by age 21. Monica Seles also had 9 grand slams (all surfaces) by age 21. Serena Williams had 4 grand slams (all surfaces) by age 21," a fan posted.

Carlos Alcaraz: "A really great start to my career but I have to keep going"

Carlos Alcaraz

Following his win against Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, during his post-match press conference, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he has had a great start to his career but all he wants to do is keep moving forward and achieve more

"Obviously, I've seen all the stats that I am the youngest to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon the same year, to win whatever. Honestly, I try not to think about it too much. Obviously it's a really great start to my career but I have to keep going," Carlos Alcaraz said

Alcaraz said that he was happy to have been able to win four Grand Slams at the age of 21 but stated that these accomplishments would be meaningless if he does not continue to strive for further success and win more.

"It doesn't matter that I've already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21 and if I don't keep going, all these tournaments for me, it doesn't matter. So I really want to keep going and I will try to keep winning and end my career with a lot of them," he added.

The Spaniard now has 33 wins out of 39 matches so far in the 2024 season, having won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in addition to his Grand Slam triumphs.