Is Carlos Alcaraz the greatest 21-year-old tennis has seen – or were other young stars better?

Ever since breaking onto the ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz has electrified the tennis world.

No man has attracted as much attention since the prime ‘Big Three’ era as the 21-year-old Spaniard – and no one has won as much.

Triumph at the All England Club this past fortnight saw him win a fourth Slam title in less than two years, an astonishing accomplishment considering he has been up against the likes of Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz was lauded with praise on Sunday and plenty of big statements were thrown about, perhaps none more so than a bold proclamation from renowned tennis social media figure, Bastien Fachan.

“The greatest 21-year-old we’ve ever seen,” he posted – in a comment that has attracted huge debate ever since.

We look at Alcaraz’s incredible career so far, and also the special careers of four other tennis stars of the past who found success young – so you can compare and decide for yourself.

Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz’s 21st birthday was only two months ago, so there is undoubtedly time for him to add to his accomplishments – but what he has achieved already is astonishing.

Victory at Wimbledon on Sunday was his second straight title at SW19, making him just the ninth man in the Open Era to defend his title.

He is also only the sixth man in the Open Era to complete the ‘Channel Slam’, having won the French Open just over a month ago – and he is the youngest to achieve that.

Alcaraz is also the youngest man to complete the ‘Surface Slam’, having won majors on hard – his maiden win coming at the 2022 US Open – grass, and clay.

He is also the youngest world No 1 in ATP history at 19 years and 129 days and has already spent 36 weeks as the top-ranked player in the world.

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Martina Hingis

One of the greatest talents in tennis history, Hingis set an array of youngest-ever records throughout the mid to late 1990s.

She won the junior French Open when she was just 12 years old in 1993 and then won her first Slam title in doubles aged 15 years and nine months at Wimbledon in 1996.

She won her maiden singles Slam at the 1997 Australian Open and reached the French Open final before winning Wimbledon and the US Open – all before her 17th birthday.

Hingis also won the Australian Open in 1998 and 1999 and reached 12 Grand Slam singles finals before her 22nd birthday, though finished with a negative 5-7 record in those finals – and never won Roland Garros.

However, she is the youngest man or woman to be world No 1 – aged 16 years and 182 days – and spent 209 weeks at the top, her final two weeks coming just after her 21st birthday.

Hingis initially retired aged 22 at the end of 2002, her five singles majors coupled with an initial nine doubles Slams – including a Calendar Slam in 1998.

Monica Seles

Often framed as one of the biggest ‘What Ifs?’ in tennis history, it is important to recognise how much Seles had achieved as a teenager before her stabbing shocked the world.

Aged 16 years and six months, Seles became the youngest French Open champion in history in 1990, and only Hingis has won a major at a younger age.

After that initial success, she would win three of the four Slams in 1991 – skipping Wimbledon due to shin splints – and then won three of the four in 1992, only beaten by Steffi Graf in the final at SW19.

Seles was 17 years and 99 days old when she first rose to world No 1 in March 1991 and had the edge over Graf in the early 1990s, winning eight out of 11 major tournaments from the 1990 French Open to the 1993 Australian Open.

The tennis legend was just 19 when stabbed on court in Germany and did not return until over two years later at the 1995 US Open, her final major before turning 22.

We will never know what she could have achieved had that not happened.

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Bjorn Borg

Another icon, Borg’s greatest successes came at an incredibly young age, with the Swede just 25 when he called time on his career.

Borg turned 18 during the 1974 French Open, where he won his first major, and would successfully defend his title the following year.

He was beaten in Paris in 1976 but would win his first Wimbledon title later that summer, and he was only 21 when he picked up his fourth Slam at SW19 in 1977.

The Swede reached the world No 1 ranking for the first time in August 1977 but only held that ranking for one week – and did not get it back until he was 23.

Borg also reached a US Open final as a 20-year-old in 1976 and had just turned 22 before his third French Open victory.

Ultimately, the Swede never won a Slam on hard courts – but he only played the Australian Open once as a 17-year-old, and the US Open often switched surfaces during the 1970s.

Maureen Connolly

Connolly’s career came before the Open Era, so her results may be taken with a pinch of salt by some – but there is no denying just how astonishing her short-lived career was.

After losing in round two of the US Championships (now US Open) in 1949 and 1950, Connolly never lost another match at a major event.

She won the US Championships in 1951 just before her 17th birthday, and then won both Wimbledon and the US in 1952, before becoming the first woman in history to complete the ‘Calendar Slam’ in 1953.

‘Little Mo’ then won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 1953, before a freak horseriding accident just after her third SW19 triumph ended her career aged only 19.

Connolly’s tragic passing from cancer aged only 34 in 1969 and the end of the amateur era have often meant her accomplishments have been forgotten – but she is undoubtedly a legend of the sport.