Why any talk about the future of men's tennis without Carlos Alcaraz is disrespectful

Any talk of the future of men's tennis without Carlos Alcaraz seems far from complete. Yet, the Spanish superstar, the current World No. 1, is neglected at times while many of his fellow talented youngsters form the 'Mount Rushmore' of the future of men's tennis.

As tennis aims to rise higher on the worldwide popularity charts, when news broke of a newly-released Netflix show aimed at attracting more fans to the sport by highlighting the players who will form the biggest part of its future, it created a huge buzz in the tennis world. For almost every true tennis enthusiast, the focus on Carlos Alcaraz as the face of men's tennis' future was a no-brainer.

However, the deficient mention of the young Spaniard as one of the stars to watch out for in the first part of Netflix's Break Point has certainly come as a surprise, and not a great one at that.

Short-term relevance is increasingly gaining importance in the modern world, and Alcaraz's absence from the initial phase of the 2023 season due to a nagging injury, means he did not have the chance to further showcase his prowess as one of the young stars who have been showing they are ready to challenge for the big titles at the ongoing Australian Open. But everything Alcaraz did in 2022, which culminated with his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open and rise to the world No. 1 ranking, certainly seems more than enough for him to bypass the challenge of short-term relevance.

That is why, when Alcaraz was not featured among seven young players in the 'New Golden Age' of tennis by the highly popular men's magazine GQ, it came as another not-so-great surprise.

Ever since he burst onto the scene, Carlos Alcaraz has been regarded as the bonafide leader of the future of men's tennis and the ideal candidate to lead the pack, as the Big 3 era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic is firmly in its twilight. The World No. 1 at the age of 19 and a Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz has gone a step further and has already established himself as the leader of the present era of men's tennis, let alone the future.

While the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Holger Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, among others, continue to garner more and more attention in talk about the future, and quite rightly so, any such discussion that ignores Carlos Alcaraz certainly misses the main idea of the 'future' of the sport.

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Carlos Alcaraz - The brightest candidate to end Big 3 dominance at the Grand Slams

Carlos Alcaraz is one of the very few non-Big 3 active Grand Slam champions.

Carlos Alcaraz is one of only seven men not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic to win a Grand Slam singles title in the last decade-and-a-half. Additionally, he is the youngest to do so at just 19 years old. When the Spaniard won the 2022 US Open back in September, he only further showed exactly what he is capable of at the biggest stage, not only with his skillful game, but his ability to shine under pressure.

It can be argued that Alcaraz's US Open win had an asterisk attached, of him not having beaten at least one of the ever-dominant duo of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But at the same time, a lot about Alcaraz's game and his achievements at such a young age makes him the favorite to beat Nadal and Djokovic at the deep end of Grand Slams going ahead.

Having missed his chance at the 2023 Australian Open due to a leg injury, Alcaraz's next shot at doing so will come at the French Open, where Nadal is expected to bid for a 15th Roland Garros title.