With Alcaraz Is Not Enough: Spanish Tennis and a Title Drought

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After twenty years of Rafael Nadal's reign, and when everyone thought Spain was left without tennis references, a boy from Murcia named Carlos Alcaraz appeared among smiles and shots, keeping the country at the top of the tennis elite. With this smooth transition, it seemed that the great void left by the Mallorcan was being solved.

But once this first major problem of Spanish tennis was resolved, the second issue has not been solved but rather aggravated, which is the absence of a second line of Spanish tennis players who also successfully grace the circuit. Alongside Nadal, there were David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano López, Nicolás Almagro, Pablo Carreño, Tommy Robredo, Roberto Bautista, or Pablo Andújar, all winners of more than one ATP title.

However, in the Alcaraz era, the luck is not the same. Although there is another Spaniard in the Top 20, Alejandro Davidovich, with outstanding tennis skills, fortune has not been on his side when he was close to several titles.

While another player like Jaume Munar, settled in the Top 40, who took a big step forward last year in terms of his tennis, results, and ranking, has also not managed to find the right formula to claim a trophy for his collection.

Three Spaniards in four years

There is a striking fact that shows the current situation of individual Spanish men's tennis, as in doubles, Marcel Granollers is standing out with two Grand Slams (Roland Garros 2025 and US Open 2025). Since Rafael Nadal's last title, which was Roland Garros 2022, until today, excluding all of Alcaraz's titles, only three Spaniards have clinched an ATP trophy.

In August 2022, it was Pablo Carreño lifting his first and only Masters 1000 trophy on the hard courts of Toronto. In April 2023, Roberto Carballés surprised everyone on the clay of the Marrakech ATP by claiming his second professional title. Lastly, in October 2024, the last Spaniard to bring joy to Spanish tennis was Roberto Bautista with the champion title on the indoor hard courts of the Belgium ATP tournament.

Since the triumph of the player from Castellón, no other Spanish name, aside from Carlos Alcaraz, has secured an ATP trophy. The year 2025 remained empty, and it remains to be seen if in 2026, someone accompanies the Murcian, who already has two titles (Australian Open and ATP Doha).

Spanish tennis seeks titles beyond Carlos Alcaraz

The month of February was always favorable for that middle class of Spanish tennis to succeed. Ferrer dominated the South American clay court circuit for several years, and Bautista claimed two titles in Doha and one in Dubai. However, this time around, Davidovich was defeated in the Acapulco round of 16, and Munar is injured.

If the trophies are not coming, neither is the ranking support. Historically, Spain has always had 9 or 10 Spaniards among the top 100 best tennis players globally, with the record being 15 in 2015. However, next week there could only be four, as Carlos Taberner closes the top 100 and might drop out.

In Italy, which had few members until a few years ago, now boasts eight in the Top 100. Furthermore, following Jannik Sinner, they have Lorenzo Musetti (5th in the ATP rankings), Flavio Cobolli (17th), and Luciano Darderi (21st), that is, four Italians among the top 30 in the world.

Although Rafa Jódar holding the 103rd position brings a breath of fresh air and energy, Spanish tennis continues to rely on Carlos Alcaraz. Spain has guaranteed success with the world number one, but his sidekicks must start sharpening their swords.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Con Alcaraz no es suficiente: el tenis español y un desierto de títulos