World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who has admired Rafael Nadal’s accomplishments since his childhood, took the opportunity to pay tribute to his idol following Nadal’s announcement of his retirement from tennis. The young Spaniard shared a heartfelt message honoring his legendary compatriot.
On his Instagram account, Alcaraz posted two photos: one of himself as a child with Nadal and another showing the two of them representing Spain together in doubles at the 2024 Olympics. He captioned the post:
“From a boy who watched you and dreamed of becoming a tennis player to someone who had the immense honor of playing alongside you, representing Spain at the Games. Thank you so much for being a role model on every level; your legacy is incredible.”
Earlier today, Alcaraz suffered a surprising defeat in the Shanghai tournament, losing to Czech player Tomáš Macháč in the quarterfinals.
