It’s been more than three years since tennis icon Serena Williams officially hung up her racket at the US Open. But the 23-time Major champion is still keeping up with the sport, and she’s become a huge fan of one ATP star, even “calling” him to cheer him on.
Since she retired, Williams’ Open Era record of 23 Grand Slam titles has been surpassed by Novak Djokovic, who has 24. And the American now believes Djokovic could also be outdone by one of his younger rivals.
Williams was always a big fan of Rafael Nadal, who ended his career last year, but she’s now found herself rooting for another Spanish tennis star in Carlos Alcaraz.
“Of course I know it well, the Spanish have been at the top for a long time. There’s Rafa, of course, but there are many other wonderful tennis players,” the former world No. 1 said at the Princess of Asturias Awards.
“Alcaraz is doing incredible things. I’m a huge fan of Alcaraz. I always call him when he plays, to cheer him on.”
Aged 22, Alcaraz already has six Grand Slam titles to his name, and Williams isn’t ruling out the possibility that he could surpass Djokovic’s count of 24.
The 44-year-old explained: “At this point, anything is possible. When [Roger] Federer started, no one thought he could surpass [Pete] Sampras, and he did.
“Then Rafa did the same, and then Djokovic. Carlos is very young, he has great rivals, but of course it’s possible. Records are there to be broken.”
Alcaraz can already reach a milestone if he claims the Australian Open title in January. It’s the only Major tournament he has yet to win, and he would complete the career Grand Slam by lifting the trophy.
For now, Alcaraz is focused on next week’s Paris Masters, which has moved to a new venue, the La Defense Arena. The world No. 1 has already arrived in the city to get some practice in ahead of the tournament.
Alcaraz has not played a tour match since winning the ATP 500 in Tokyo. He withdrew from the Shanghai Masters and then played the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia, finishing runner-up to Jannik Sinner.