Carlos Alcaraz has been voted the Most Improved Player of the Year in the ATP Awards by his fellow players.
Alcaraz reached the quarter finals and won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan during a successful 2021 season.
“I am really happy to receive this award, and I want to say thank you to all my colleagues who voted me as the Most Improved Player of the Year. For me it’s an amazing achievement. This year has been really good for me, a dream year, and I am looking to improve the year in 2023. Thank you very much”, said Alcaraz.
The Spanish player claimed the first of his five ATP titles at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro breaking into the top 20. He went on to reach the semifinal in Indian Wells before winning his first Masters 1000 title in Miami. During the clay season Alcaraz claimed a double title on Spanish soli in Barcelona and Madrid. He beat Rafael Nadal in the quarter final, Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and Alexander Zverev in the final at the Madrid Mutua Open.
Alcaraz beat Cameron Norrie in the final of the US Open to become the youngest world number 1 player since the rankings started in 1973.
Alcaraz is the first player outside the Big Four of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to finish the year at world number 1 since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Alcaraz is the first teenager in history to earn the year-end ATP Number 1 award. Thirty-six year-old Rafael Nadal is the oldest number 2. It is the first time since 1996 that two players from the same country have finished number 1 and number 2. US stars Pete Sampras and Michael Chang were the last players to achieve this feat.
“For me it’s a dream come true being number 1 in the world, to be a Grand Slam champion. Everything has come so fast. I didn’t think at the beginning of the year that I am going to have the year that I am having right now. I always believe in my team and in my work, so this is something that came with the hard work that I put in every day, the hard preseason, the work during the year with my team. Everything pays off”.
Alcaraz has been nominated for Most Improved Player in the ATP Awards for the second consecutive year. The other nominees in this category were Holger Rune, Maxime Cressy and Jack Draper.
