At just 22 years of age, Carlos Alcaraz is already a tennis legend.
The Spaniard has 24 ATP titles to his name, six of which he has claimed at majors, and he is just one Australian Open triumph away from completing the Career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz, who finished 2025 as the world number one, began his incredible career at the Rio Open in February 2020.
There, he claimed his first tour-level victory, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in three sets on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro.
Aged just 16 during his campaign in Brazil, Alcaraz was the world number 407 back then, at a time when the ATP rankings looked very different.
The ATP rankings when Carlos Alcaraz made his debut on the tour
In February 2020, the ‘big three’ of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer made up the top three spots in the rankings.
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Djokovic led the way as the world number one with 9,720 points, with Nadal trailing just behind with 9,395.
Nipping at Federer’s heels in fourth was Dominic Thiem, who went on to win a maiden Grand Slam later on that year at the US Open.
| Rank | Player | Points |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 9,720 |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 9,395 |
| 3 | Roger Federer | 7,130 |
| 4 | Dominic Thiem | 7,045 |
| 5 | Daniil Medvedev | 5,890 |
| 6 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 4,745 |
| 7 | Alexander Zverev | 3,885 |
| 8 | Matteo Berrettini | 2,860 |
| 9 | Gael Monfils | 2,860 |
| 10 | David Goffin | 2,600 |
Along with Thiem in the new generation were Daniil Medvedev in fifth, Stefanos Tsitsipas in sixth, and Alexander Zverev in seventh.
A year before reaching the Wimbledon final, Matteo Berrettini was eighth in the world, while ATP veterans Gael Monfils and David Goffin were ranked ninth and 10th, respectively.
Jannik Sinner’s position in the rankings during the 2020 season
At that point, Alcaraz’s eventual rival, Jannik Sinner, had managed to break into the top 100 in the world.
Sinner was ranked 79th at the time, having managed to claim his first win at a Grand Slam in January that year.
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The Italian defeated Max Purcell in straight sets to advance to round two in Melbourne, but was ultimately knocked out by Marton Fucsovics.
Later on in the 2020 season, Sinner achieved his best major result by reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
He overcame Zverev en route to the last eight but was beaten by Nadal.
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