How old is Carlos Alcaraz? How a fifth major win by age 22 compares to Novak Djokovic, other tennis legends

Carlos Alcaraz has developed into one of the best tennis players in the world, and he hasn’t even turned 23 years old.

The tennis phenom debuted in 2021 at the Australian Open. In a little over four years of competition, Alcaraz has already won five major championships and is just a win at the Australian Open away from completing the career grand slam. He has made the second round of every major that he has played in and has only missed the 2023 Australian Open so far.

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Alcaraz was ranked as the No. 1 men’s tennis player in the world in September 2022 when he was just 19 years old. Here is more on Alcaraz’s age and how his young career compares to other tennis greats.

How old is Carlos Alcaraz?

Alcaraz was born on May 5, 2003, and is 22 years old. He will still be able to play in the 2025 U.S. Open and 2026 Australian Open before his next birthday. There are only seven people younger than him ranked in the ATP Top 100. 

MORE: Who has won the most Wimbledon titles?

Youngest men to win 5 Grand Slams

Here are the youngest men to win five tennis Grand Slams.

Borg debuted at the 1972 U.S. Open, but didn’t make it out of the preliminary rounds at a major until the 1973 French Open. He won his first major at the 1974 French Open, and won his fifth major at the 1978 French Open. Borg’s first championship came when he was just 18 years old. 

Nadal made his major debut at Wimbledon in 2003 where he was eliminated in the first round. Fittingly, his first major win came during his debut at the French Open in 2005. He not only one that year’s French Open, but each of the next three for a four-peat. His fifth major win came at Wimbledon in 2008. It was the first of only two wins at that major. 

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Alcaraz was a qualifier for the 2021 Australian Open and made it to the second round before getting eliminated. He won his first major at the 2022 U.S. Open. Alcaraz won his fifth career major when he won the 2025 French Open. He still needs the Australian Open to complete his career Grand Slam, but for now is the third youngest player ever to win five majors. 

Sampras’ first major appearance was at the 1988 U.S. Open, but he was eliminated in the first round. He got his revenge two years later, winning his first career major. He won Wimbledon in 1993, the 1993 French Open, 1994 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1994 for his first five grand slam victories. 

MORE: Breaking down Carlos Alcaraz’s majors timeline

When did Carlos Alcaraz win his first Grand Slam?

Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam at the 2022 U.S. Open. He also has won Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024, as well as the French Open in 2024 and 2025. Here is an overview of each of his major wins. 

2022 U.S. Open

Alcaraz began the tournament as the 3-seed in the draw. He rolled through the first three matches, winning each one in straight sets. The first trouble that Alcaraz ran into was in the fourth round against Marin Cilic. Alcaraz won the first set 6-4, but lost the second 3-6. He won the third 6-4, but then Cilic won the fourth 6-4 to force the deciding fifth set. Alcaraz emerged victorious 6-3 to advance. 

The Spaniard’s stamina was tested for the remainder of the tournament. He needed five sets to get past Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3) and Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals (6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3). This set up a final against No. 5 Casper Ruud. Alcaraz won the first set 6-4, but dropped the second 2-6. He didn’t let Ruud gain much momentum and battled back to win 7-6 and 6-3 for his first Grand Slam. 

2023 Wimbledon

Alcaraz was the No. 1 overall seed in this major draw for the first time in his career. He rolled in straight sets in his first two matches, but then needed four sets apiece to reach the quarterfinals. Alcaraz matched up with No. 6 Holger Rune, but won 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 and then advanced in three straight 6-3 sets past Daniil Medvedev. 

This set up a blockbuster matchup against Novak Djokovic. With the latter’s career winding down, this felt like it was the time that the past was taking on the future of tennis. Djokovic won the first set 6-1, but Alcaraz used a tiebreaker to win the second 7-6. He won the third set 6-1, but Djokovic stayed alive with the 6-3 win in the fourth. Alcaraz won the final set 6-4 for his first major win at Wimbledon, but he made sure it wasn’t his last. 

2024 French Open

Alcaraz had steadily gotten better at Roland Garros. He made it to the third round his first time at the French Open, the quarterfinals in his second and the semifinals in his third.

Alcaraz made the finals in 2024 for the first time. He was matched up with Alexander Zverev, who also had never won the French Open. Alcaraz won the first set 6-3, but then Zverev battled back, winning the next two 6-2 and 7-5. Facing elimination, Alcaraz turned it on, winning the last two sets 6-1, 6-2 to earn his first French Open crown. 

2024 Wimbledon

Alcaraz showed up at Wimbledon in 2024, fresh off his win at the French Open. Despite that success, he was the No. 3 seed in the Wimbledon draw. He advanced to the third round from back-to-back straight set wins. Alcaraz needed the full five sets to get past Frances Tiafoe after dropping two of the first three sets. After advancing to the fourth round, Alcaraz beat Ugo Humbert in four sets to make the quarterfinals. 

No. 12 Tommy Paul took the first set against him, but Alcaraz rattled off three set wins 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semis. It was another showdown with Medvedev and he won the first set in a tiebreaker. That was all Alcaraz allowed as he won 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to make the finals. Alcaraz refused to be denied and played incredibly against Djokovic, winning 6-2, 6-2 and 7-6 for his second consecutive Wimbledon title. 

2025 French Open

Alcaraz was the No. 2 seed for the 2025 French Open draw. He struggled more than he normally does early. Alcaraz won in three sets in the first round, but then needed four sets in each of his next three rounds to reach the quarterfinals. He cruised past Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 and matched up with Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals. Musetti took the first set 6-4, but Alcaraz battled back 7-6, 6-0, 6-2 to advance. 

This led to a finals matchup against Jannik Sinner in a battle of the top two seeds in the tournament draw. Sinner won the first two sets 6-4, 7-6. Alcaraz then won three straight sets, including two tiebreak wins. He finished 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 to knock off Sinner and win his second consecutive French Open title. 

MORE: Inside Carlos Alcaraz’s record vs. Jannik Sinner

How does Carlos Alcaraz’s pace compare to greats?

Alcaraz is the latest young phenom to take over the tennis world. Fans of tennis have recently seen the careers of all-time greats Roger Federer and Nadal end, while Djokovic is close to hanging up his tennis shoes. With the torch being passed to Alcaraz, here is how the start of his career compares to the other greats. 

More: What is Carlos Alcaraz’s net worth?

How many Grand Slams will Carlos Alcaraz win? 

Anything can happen in the world of tennis, so it is impossible to predict how many Grand Slams Alcaraz will win. That being said, he is the second youngest men’s tennis player to ever win five majors. He is at an unreal pace, winning five of his 17 Grand Slam appearances. Alcaraz is averaging at least one major win a year for his pro career so far. Djokovic is still playing at 38 years old. If Alcaraz maintains his one major win per year pace, and plays until he is Djokovic’s age, he will finish with an estimated 21 major victories. This would put him third all-time, behind Djokovic (24) and Nadal (22), but right ahead of Federer (20). 

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