Carlos Alcaraz explains the meaning behind his ‘silly’ celebration after beating Arthur Fils in Barcelona

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Carlos Alcaraz is searching for his third title of 2025 at this week’s Barcelona Open.

The world number two began his clay court season in style last week, as Alcaraz won the Monte-Carlo Masters, beating Lorenzo Musetti in the final.

Returning home for the Barcelona Open, the Spaniard kicked off his campaign with strong wins over Ethan Quinn and Laslo Djere.

Alcaraz then beat Alex de Minaur for a second time this year in the quarterfinals, setting up an enticing semi-final clash with another impressive youngster.

Beating Arthur Fils to book his spot in the final, the 21-year-old entertained fans with a new celebration, which he has now explained.

Carlos Alcaraz says his celebration against Arthur Fils was just a ‘silly thing’ for his coaching team

After beating Fils, 6-2, 6-4, Alcaraz can be seen celebrating in a way fans hadn’t seen before.

During his on-court interview, Alcaraz explained the meaning behind his unusual celebration.

“The celebration was for my team,” he said.

“They tell me a thing, I’m not going to say what thing it is, but they tell me every time during the match, a thing I have to do.

“It wasn’t a dance, it was just a silly thing for them.”

The Spaniard was happy to celebrate after enduring the tricky conditions during the semi-final.

“Yeah, I think that the first thing that we have to be grateful for was that it was sunny, you know the sun was out, it wasn’t raining,” said Alcaraz.

“But then the wind was really tough to deal with, I think it was a lot of wind today, so I had to survive.

“It wasn’t about playing fantastic tennis, brilliant shots, it was about making the shot you have to do, no more than that. I think I did it pretty well.

“I started the match really focused on my game, on being in a good position every chance to hit the right shot, so really happy that I was able to do it.”

Alcaraz then looked ahead to the final, where he’ll be searching for a third-career Barcelona Open title.

“For me, it’s great, since I was a little kid, every Sunday watching the final here in Godo,” he said.

“Being here in a final in Barcelona means a lot, in front of my people, my friends who came from Murcia, [it] has been a really fun and great week.

“Let’s see if tomorrow we will end the day with a trophy, it’s going to be tough but I’m super excited.”

The world number two will take on fellow 21-year-old Holger Rune in the final, who looked dominant during his semi-final win over Karen Khachanov.

Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune’s head-to-head record

Alcaraz and Rune have played three times before on the ATP Tour, with the former leading the head-to-head 2-1.

Remarkably, on all three occasions, the player who won the match went on to win the tournament, a streak that will, of course, continue on Sunday.

Rune’s sole victory over Alcaraz came at the Paris Masters three years ago, when Alcaraz retired due to injury during the second set tiebreaker.

The pair has yet to play a tour-level match on the clay, however, with Barcelona set to play host to their first meeting on the surface.

Rune may well fancy his chances of levelling the head-to-head with a win over Alcaraz in the final, having impressed at this week’s tournament.

• 2025 Barcelona Open SF – Holger Rune beat Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 6-2
• 2025 Barcelona Open QF – Holger Rune beat Casper Ruud, 6-4, 6-2
• 2025 Barcelona Open 2R – Holger Rune beat Sebastian Baez, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
• 2025 Barcelona Open 1R – Holger Rune beat Albert Ramos Vinolas, 7-5, 6-4

The Danish youngster knocked out defending champion Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, backing up his hard-fought second-round win over Sebastian Baez.

It remains to be seen who will come out on top when Alcaraz and Rune play for a fourth time but it will certainly be worth a watch.

Alcaraz and Rune will play in the final of the 2025 Barcelona Open on Sunday, April 20.