ATP Rankings: Carlos Alcaraz Ends Year on Disappointing Note Despite Grand Slam Glory as Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev Shine Bright

What a season this has been for Carlitos! He has achieved quite a lot of things in 2024. For example, Carlos Alcaraz became the first player in the Open Era to win his first three majors on three different surfaces. He also became the youngest player to win the Channel Slam (French Open and Wimbledon) at 21 years, 2 months, and 9 days! After seeing all these stats, one could easily conclude that his season was literally picture-perfect for the 21-year-old. However, unfortunately for the Spaniard, that's not the case this time! Despite winning two slams, his fate has to be deemed quite 'unfortunate.' What's the exact reason behind this, though?

Carlos Alcaraz has not only won 4 titles this season but also clinched a silver medal for his nation at the Paris Olympics. However, despite all these heroics throughout the year, he has finished the year as the world number 3! Recently, renowned tennis journalist and commentator, Jose Morgado shared the year-end ATP Top 10 for 2024. In that list, Jannik Sinner was spotted securing the spot with 11,830 points, while Alexander Zverev clinched the second spot with 7915 points. What about Carlos Alcaraz?

Well, he was placed at the third spot with just 7010 points. After seeing this a fan commented on that post asking, "Has anyone ever won at least 2 slams in a year and not finish top 2? Interesting year for Alcaraz." Is there any specific reason for him not finishing in the Top 2? Well, apart from these incredible performances there were a few moments where he looked pretty ordinary in some of the tournaments. For example, he made a surprising early exit from the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals this year could be a few possible reasons behind this.

What do other tennis experts think of Carlos Alcaraz's 2024 season? Well, another tennis journalist, Bastien Fachan recently posted an open statement for the fans where he asked, "Rank Carlos Alcaraz's 2024 season out of 10." In the comment section of that post, we saw several fans rating 9 or 9.5, but Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs felt his season fell short of his usual high standards. She wrote, "For his standard 7 1/2 .... Wining 2 slams is insane! Especially the 2 back to back on clay and grass, but I think he would be disappointed not winning the gold and having some 'average' for him results."

Now, since the season has almost come to an end, let's check out which moment according to him stands tall among the rest in 2024. Also, let's find out what's coming up next for this super-talented Spaniard.

Carlos Alcaraz reveals the most special moment of the 2024 Alcaraz successfully managed to defend his titles at the Indian Wells Masters and the Wimbledon. He also made his dream debut at the Paris Olympics. In Paris, he had a decent outing in the singles event and even in the doubles he managed to form a dream doubles partnership with his tennis idol, Rafael Nadal. They even reached the QF! However, interestingly none of these moments got featured in his most favorite moment in the 2024 season.

Then what was his favorite moment? Well, in reply to that question, Carlos Alcaraz said, "Roland Garros. In the months before the tournament, I got injured and couldn't practice as much as I wanted. I went without any expectations—and ended up winning. It's a real highlight." However, these are all past things for the young Spaniard, all he now aims for is to shift his focus toward the Davis Cup. This will be Rafael Nadal's last tournament as a professional tennis player. Speaking on his upcoming goals, Alcaraz said, "Rafa's farewell is more important than the Davis Cup. There are Davis Cups every year, but there is only one 'farewell' to a tennis legend. I really want him(Nadal) to retire with a title."

What lines up for him after the Davis Cup? Well, Carlos Alcaraz revealed that he'd then sit down with his coach, Juan Carlos Ferraro, and write down in a notebook, on paper, what things they're going to work on specifically during the preseason. The first big tournament lining up for Alcaraz at the moment is AO. He has never won this title ever in his career as of now! However, he's pretty much optimistic about his chances this time. He already has a new tattoo in his mind. "I have it in mind, I have in mind to tattoo the kangaroo," said the Spaniard. His first goal in 2025 is to complete the 'Grand Slam' in Melbourne. Do you think Carlos Alcaraz can win the 2025 AO?