Nadal On Alcaraz: "Already One Of The Best In History"

Rafael Nadal has called Carlos Alcaraz "already one of the best players in history", adding that he has no doubts about his return: "Carlos will come back from his injury, and he'll come back well, because he's too good for it to be otherwise". The remarks came in Mallorca, on the sidelines of a charity golf tournament tied to ALS research.

Alcaraz, world number 2, has been sidelined since April with tendinitis in his right wrist, picked up at the Barcelona tournament. The problem forced him to miss first Roland Garros and then Wimbledon, two consecutive Slams lost at the peak of his career. The timeline indicated by the medical staff points to the North American hard-court summer swing, which gets under way in August.

Nadal also had words for the other young Spaniards. On Rafael Jodar, the nineteen-year-old from Madrid who reached number 22 in the live ranking on June 1st, he stressed how exceptional the journey has been: "Rafa has had a very strong progression over the past year, going from almost 900 to around twentieth in the world. Only someone with great ability can do something like that". Jodar, who reached the quarterfinals in Paris, shares both the name and the admiration for the champion from Manacor.

Finally, there was room for Martín Landaluce, who came up through the Rafa Nadal Academy: "He's an Academy kid and this year he's making very big strides". The Spaniard, a two-time Masters 1000 quarterfinalist in 2026 between Miami and Rome, is one of the most tangible products of the Mallorca facility.

What stands out is the thread linking all three answers: a now-retired champion who measures the value of Spanish tennis not by the titles already won, but by the ability to grow day after day, the very same yardstick he applied to himself for twenty years.