Carlos Alcaraz, the 19 year-old tennis sensation from Spain, won the 2022 United States Open on Sunday. He defeated Casper Ruud of Norway in the final 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3. As s result, Alcaraz became the youngest male world number one in tennis history according to Rutvick Mehta of the Hindustan Times.
Alcaraz accomplished the feat at 19 years old and 130 days. The previous youngest male tennis player to be number one in the world was Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, who was 20 years and 268 days.
The youngest women’s tennis player to be ranked number one was Martina Hingis of Switzerland, who was only 16 years, six months and one day. At the time Hingis was ranked first in the world, she had also won one grand slam singles title. That was the 1997 Australian Open where she beat Mary Pierce of France, 6-2, 6-2. Interestingly when Hingis beat Pierce, she became the youngest women’s player to win a grand slam singles final since Lottie Dod of Bebington, England, who was 15 years old when she beat Blanche Bingley of Greenford, England to win the 1887 Wimbledon, 6-3, 6-3.
On Sunday, Alcaraz took over the world number one from Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Medvedev lost in the fourth round of the 2022 United States Open last weekend to Nick Kyrgios of Australia, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
In the men’s final on Sunday, Alcaraz was the much better server. He had 14 aces compared to only Ruud, who had four aces.
This was Alcaraz’s fifth title of 2022. He previously beat Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Rio Open in February, Ruud 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the Miami Open in March, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Barcelona Open in April, and Alexander Zverev of Germany, 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Madrid Open in May.
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