What Alcaraz Did Quicker Than Djokovic, Federer & Nadal
What Alcaraz Did Quicker Than Djokovic, Federer & Nadal
Carlos Alcaraz made history on Monday when he cracked the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings for the first time at World No. 20. No active player — including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer — broke into the elite group at a younger age than Alcaraz, who is 18 years, nine months and 16 days old.
“It’s really good to be in the Top 20,” said Alcaraz, who accomplished the feat by becoming the youngest ATP 500 titlist in category history (since 2009) on Sunday at the Rio Open presented by Claro. “That was a goal for me at the end of the year, so to be able to do that at the beginning is amazing.”
Eleven active players have broken into the Top 20 as a teenager. The only other active player who did it aged 18 was Nadal, who was 18 years, 10 months and one day old when he reached No. 17 on 4 April 2005.
Youngest Active Players To Crack The Top 20
| Player |
Date Cracked Top 20 |
Age |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 21 Feb 2022 | 18y, 9m, 16d |
| Rafael Nadal | 4 Apr 2005 | 18y, 10m, 1d |
| Richard Gasquet | 20 June 2005 | 19y, 2d |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 19 Aug 2019 | 19y, 11d |
| Andy Murray | 21 Aug 2006 | 19y, 3m, 6d |
| Novak Djokovic | 9 Oct 2006 | 19y, 4m, 17d |
| Alexander Zverev | 17 Oct 2016 | 19y, 5m, 27d |
| Roger Federer | 26 Feb 2001 | 19y, 6m, 18d |
| Jannik Sinner | 19 Apr 2001 | 19y, 8m, 3d |
| Juan Martin del Potro | 11 Aug 2008 | 19y, 10m, 19d |
| Denis Shapovalov | 1 Apr 2019 | 19y, 11m, 17d |
Alcaraz is the youngest player to break into the Top 20 since Andrei Medvedev, who was 18 years, five months and one day old when he cracked the Top 20 on 1 February 1993.
It has been a rapid rise for Alcaraz, who was No. 406 in the ATP Rankings when he made his ATP Tour main draw debut in Rio de Janeiro two years ago.
There is nobody younger than Alcaraz in the Top 250. Holger Rune, the World No. 88, is six days older than the Spaniard. Italian Luca Nardi, an 18-year-old who is three months and one day younger than Alcaraz, is at a career-high World No. 283.
– Research assistance provided by Joshua Rey