Coco Gauff declares she’ll ‘never’ copy Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘this’ habit
Coco Gauff is hoping to end her trophy drought in the Madrid Open, while Carlos Alcaraz was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
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Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Tennis Channel)
Carlos Alcaraz loves tattoos on his body. He has commemorated all his first Grand Slam victories by getting tattoos. Coco Gauff, however, is not a fan of inking her body.
The World No.4 is in Madrid and has reached the third round after breezing past compatriot Ann Li 6-2, 6-3 to set up a clash with Belinda Bencic. Prior to this match, Gauff battled past Dayana Yastremska in her opening round, following which she met a fan who tattooed the 2023 US Open champion’s signature on her arm.
This is the second time. Somebody else also got one on them when I won the US Open title. And I was like, you guys are better than me. People ask if I’d get the US Open tattooed on me because (Alcaraz) did. I was like, no, I’m never doing that. I don’t love – I love winning but maybe not that much.
Coco Gauff told Tennis Channel
Gauff also narrated that a year ago, she met that fan who had her forehand slice tattooed on the right arm. The fan then asked the American ace to sign her arm; the former then revealed that she would be getting a tattoo of the 21-year-old’s signature which Gauff didn’t believe at that time.
Alcaraz has four tattoos: three C’s as a tribute to his grandfather, the date of his US Open victory, a strawberry-shaped tattoo he got after he defeated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, the Eiffel Tower after his French Open win last year. He was planning to get the five Olympic rings tattoo but as Djokovic defeated him in the Paris Olympics final, he didn’t get it.
The Spaniard has said that if he completes the Career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, he will get a kangaroo-shaped tattoo. This year, Djokovic knocked him out of the Melbourne Slam by beating him in the quarterfinals.
Carlos Alcaraz reveals what happened when he saw Rafael Nadal’s pre-match routine for the first time
Carlos Alcaraz is one of those players who grew up watching Rafael Nadal and played against him later. Alcaraz, on his 18th birthday, met the 22-time Grand Slam champion for the first time in the 2021 Madrid Open third round. The Murcia native, on his new Netflix series Carlos Alcaraz: My Way, revealed that he was intimidated by Nadal before that match.
I remember the first time I played against Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open. It was a special moment. I was turning 18. You see Rafa Nadal doing his routine. Jumping, sprinting around. You could see it on my face, I didn’t know where to hide. Scared to death would be an understatement.
Carlos Alcaraz said
Alcaraz met the King of Clay on two more occasions: in the 2022 Indian Wells semifinal (lost again) and the 2022 Madrid Open quarterfinal, where he finally secured a win over his idol. The four-time Grand Slam champion also played alongside Nadal in the 2024 Paris Olympics and both were parts of Spain’s team in the 2024 Davis Cup, where Nadal hung up his career after his team’s 2-1 defeat in the quarterfinals to the Netherlands.
Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open
Carlos Alcaraz suffered a hamstring injury during the Barcelona Open final he played against Holger Rune. Alcaraz took a medical timeout in the second set and later reports emerged that he had injured his right adductor muscle.
But in his pre-tournament press conference at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz revealed that he also injured his left hamstring muscle and had withdrawn from the ATP 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital. Alcaraz is the winner of two Madrid Open titles (won in 2022 and 2023).
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