Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his Wimbledon 2024 campaign with a straight sets win over Mark Lajal in the first round on July 1. Alcaraz is aiming to be in an exclusive club of players who have defended their title successfully at the grass court Grand Slam. However, he has also attracted uncalled for attention because of The Sunday Times, the reputed British publication trying to get cheeky with their cover story featuring the Spanish star.
The Tennis Letter shared this recent update on X. Despite Alcaraz’s bright face covering almost the entirety of the cover page in which he was called ‘King Carlos’, there was another aspect that caught the attention – the caption.
‘Carlos Alcaraz on The Sunday Times. The saviour of tennis (who still lives with his mom)”
The ‘S’ word in question here is ‘saviour’. This is where most tennis fans on social media have a problem. Many have questioned the editorial judgement of the The Sunday Times since there are other players doing well such as Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka among others.
Moreover, fans didn’t find the cover image very flattering either and believe that the magazine is patronising Carlos Alcaraz unnecessarily.
Why is he a saviour?
Tennis has just had its best-ever phase with The Big 3.
Djokovic is still there, Nadal also.
What is he saving us from?
— Puneet (@TennisPuneet) June 30, 2024
Alcaraz shows that you can travel the world and ace opponents while still being tied to mom’s apron strings—literally and figuratively.
Carlos proves you can live with mom and still be a smash hit—both at home and on the court.
— Narasimha R N AI – Disciple @69 (@NarasimhaRN5) June 30, 2024
Why does tennis need a “saviour,” and why do they say “with his mom” rather than “with his family”?
— Steven Walk (@realStevenWalk) July 1, 2024
The saviour of tennis? Whattt..
— Morgan (@user_1_1) July 1, 2024
Interestingly, The Sunday Times also wrote about Carlos Alcaraz being one player who still lives with his mother in the same house. While fans have commented on that too, this is nothing unusual in many parts of the world despite nuclear families being the norm in countries such as the United States. In fact, in Spain, having close family ties is a regular thing even amongst celebrities as Rafael Nadal too till date, lives with his family in Mallorca.
When it comes to Carlos Alcaraz, his family keeps him grounded and things around him real. As they have sacrificed a lot to make him a pro, he is indebted to them.
Carlos Alcaraz Has Always Been Close to His Family
Alcaraz started playing tennis because his father, Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez used to run a tennis club in El Palmar, Murcia, where Alcaraz grew up. Every time after a win, Alcaraz goes back to his hometown to celebrate with his family.
At almost every event, he finds comfort in his family being there, and also gave them a shout-out at the French Open recently. Alcaraz’s younger brother Jamie Alcaraz is 12 years old and is also pursuing tennis professionally. Jamie wants to follow in his elder brother’s footsteps and was already a finalist at the Rafa Nadal Academy tournament.
Alcaraz’s mother, Virginia Garfia Escandón is now well-known as a former IKEA employee on whose salary the household used to run more at one point of time. Overall, Alcaraz and their family is a tightly packed unit and operates as one.
Coming back to Wimbledon 2024, Carlos Alcaraz is likely to play his second round match on July 3 with his opponent yet to be decided.
