Face Off: Comparing Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime

Smashing your way into the world of elite tennis as a new player is never easy. Tennis players often have more longevity in terms of how long they can keep playing compared with, say, football. What this means to young, hungry players is that they may be competing against the same cream-of-the-crop players that they looked up to while they were still taking lessons!

Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime are two young tennis players both making a play for some of the top tennis titles out there. Alcaraz, for example, became the Argentina Open’s youngest winner ever last year after returning to the tournament following a long-term injury. Auger-Aliassime is currently Canada’s highest-ranked player and won a total of three ATP titles last year alone. If you’re planning on placing a bet in the best online sportsbook, players like these are the way to a win!

Both weighed down by the blessings of youth and talent; these two players are often compared by sports writers and fans alike. We know that comparing any two sports people, even if they play the same sport, is like comparing apples and oranges, but it’s human nature to compare players the way we do, and fun besides! Since the comparisons are already out there, we thought we’d take a look at the two young stars and see what sets them apart and what makes them the incredible players that they are.

Carlos Alcaraz

Believe it or not, Alcaraz is just 19 years old and already ranked as the best male player on the planet. This Spanish national took the tennis world completely by surprise when he won his very first Grand Slam title in 2022: the US Open. He is the first teenager to take the title since Rafael Nadal himself in 2005. His 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 thrashing of Casper Ruud will no doubt go down in history. At his tender age, Alcaraz is essentially a wunderkind and a miracle in the sport: he has already won a total of eight career titles, including a classic: the Masters 1000. He doesn’t take his talent or his good fortune for granted, either. He was quoted as saying that his title and his career are things he has dreamed of since he was a child. His preference leans toward the US Open in terms of Grand Slams; he knows that Wimbledon is a tricky tournament and worries that it may prove too much of a challenge for him, even though he loves a grass court.

Alcaraz’s Argentina Open win made him the youngest player in history to take home the title, which is certainly a prestigious honour. The Madrid Masters was another chance for this unbelievable player to show off his talent, and here it was against household names like Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. That tournament also made the 19-year-old Alcaraz the only man EVER to beat both players consecutively on a clay court. If we were betting, we know that he would certainly be a good way to go!

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Taking home four ATP titles over the course of such a (so far) short career, and three of them being in one year, is an achievement indeed. Auger-Aliassime ended last year by being ranked as the sixth best male tennis player in the world and the best male tennis player in Canada. He’s played in the Davis Cup a number of times and enjoyed tremendous success for himself and his country. He gave Canada their first Davis Cup win in 2022 and qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin for the first time, to boot.  Though he lost to Casper Ruud in his first match, he took down all-time great Rafael Nadal in the following days. He admits that his road thus far has not always been the smoothest. From the time that he reached his first final to the time that he claimed his first title, he did a lot of work and knows that there is more to come. The first time he broke into the world’s top 10 rankings was in November of 2021. He has climbed four spaces since then and has no plans to slow down any time soon!

A side-by-side comparison

Age: CA, 19 |  FAA, 22

Nationality: CA, Spanish | FAA, Canadian

Height: CA, 6’0” | FAA, 6’44”

Weight: CA, 163lbs | FAA, 194lbs

Dominant hand: Both right-handed

Turned Pro: CA, 2018 | FAA, 2017

Career Wins/Losses: CA, 104/32 | FAA, 171/109

Carer Titles: CA, 8 | FAA, 4

Total Career Prize Money: CA, $13,389,807 | FAA, $10,835,917

Wrap up

These two incredible young players have only just begun; that much is clear. With long and illustrious careers to look forward to and many matches yet to play, they know they’ll have to work hard to keep up with these blazing scores and accomplishments, but we know they’ve got it in them.