The two big predictions Rafael Nadal made about Carlos Alcaraz in 2022 which both came true

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Carlos Alcaraz has taken the ATP Tour by storm once again in 2025, having enjoyed another phenomenal season.

Alcaraz is the year-end number one, while his eight ATP Tour titles claimed are more than any other player.

His honors include two Grand Slam titles, with Alcaraz winning the French Open and the US Open to take his career tally to six.

Such success could not have been imagined by the Spaniard or his team, or the many, many fans who followed every move he made throughout 2025.

Rafael Nadal made two big Carlos Alcaraz predictions in 2022 which both came true

However, tennis legend Rafael Nadal did indeed predict exactly that for his fellow Spaniard when speaking in 2022.

Nadal told Eurosport ahead of the French Open that year: “He’s a big candidate to win a lot of Grand Slams and become the number one player in the world. What he is doing is fantastic so well done for him and I wish him all the very best.

“He is doing a lot of things similar to me. He is young, he has the passion and the energy. He has every single thing to become a huge star.

“I’m like a Spanish spectator, personally I’m happy to have someone like him to stay on the tour for a long time and achieve a lot of things.”

Carlos Alcaraz became world number one after 2022 US Open success

At the time, Alcaraz was ninth in the world rankings and had four ATP titles to his name, but no Grand Slams.

But shortly after, he ticked that off the list along with becoming world number one, which he achieved when he won the 2022 US Open.

Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud in the final in New York for his maiden Grand Slam, and lived up to Nadal’s hype by simultaneously becoming world number one.

Fittingly, however, the older of the Spanish duo had his own fun at the time, winning the French Open just after his high praise of Alcaraz.

Nadal had also just won the Australian Open, with the victories representing his 21st and 22nd Grand Slam titles, placing him second in the all-time list behind the 24 of Novak Djokovic.