Carlos Alcaraz discloses the ‘worst moment’ of his tennis career and who was the first major tennis star to realise his talent

Alcaraz is one of the most talented young tennis players ever. He is a four-time Grand Slam champion at the age of 21, and he has a fantastic chance to win his fifth major at this year’s French Open, where he is the defending champion.

Alcaraz won Roland Garros last year, although he had doubts about his ability to play in Paris. He injured his forearm at the beginning of the clay-court season and took a long time to recover.

The Spaniard withdrew from the Barcelona Open and the Monte-Carlo Masters. Alcaraz advanced to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open before withdrawing from the Italian Open in Rome.

It was a challenging period for him, especially since it was so close to the French Open. Ultimately, Alcaraz managed to recover in time for the clay-court Grand Slam and excelled on the Parisian clay.

He beat J.J. Wolf, Jesper De Jong, Sebastian Korda, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev to lift his third Grand Slam title.

Shortly after that, he beat Novak Djokovic in yet another Wimbledon final to claim his fourth, and for now, his last major title. But in a recent interview with MoluscoTV, Alcaraz admitted that the period when he was injured before the French Open was probably the worst in his tennis career.

There were many factors that made the time so challenging for Alcaraz. He missed the tournament in Barcelona, which is one of his favorites, but he was also unsure of whether he would ever be able to come back at his best.

The young player was initially told that he would be fine in two weeks, but that didn’t happen, which worried him even more. Ultimately, he was able to come back and win two consecutive majors, going from the worst moment in his career to probably the best in a few weeks.

“I had many doubts about whether I was going to feel good again, to be able to hit the ball normally because it bothered me. Weeks went by. The doctors told me, no, in two weeks you will be able to play perfectly.”

“The two weeks would come, and again, it bothered me, hurt me, so that created a doubt in me of not knowing when I was going to return. Not knowing if I was going to be able to hit my forehand again or the shots normally. And there were super important tournaments in sight.”

Carlos Alcaraz has opened up about when he first realised he was “actually” good at tennis – and how “role model” David Ferrer proved an inspirational figure as a junior.

The 21-year-old does not have to think back as far as most to reflect on his junior days, but, speaking on Molusco TV, he opened up about when he realised he had the potential to achieve greatness.

He said: “I’d say [I realised] around the age of 14. By then, I had already competed internationally and had played in a lot of national tournaments in Spain.

“My results were good — I had won some tournaments and was being considered among the best in Europe. That’s when I slowly started realizing that I was on the right track, that maybe I was actually good at tennis.

“Of course, those years between 14 and 18 are crucial, but it was at 14 that I really decided I wanted to train harder, dedicate myself even more, and pursue my dream of becoming a professional player.”

When asked further about who was the first accomplished athlete to recognise his potential, Alcaraz reflected on practicing with Ferrer when he was only 15 years old.

A former world No 3 and a French Open finalist, training with Ferrer proved to have a significant impact on a young Alcaraz.

“The first one I can remember was David Ferrer,” added Alcaraz.

“When I was 15, I had the chance to train with him. For me, Ferrer was a huge role model — not just in tennis but in sports in general.