Not even millions in prizes make Alcaraz abandon the chalet – 07/18/2023 – Sport

Carlos Alcaraz, 20, may have already earned US$ 19,644,057 in his career (R$ 94,552,739 at current exchange rates), but he continues to live in the same place where he lived when he was still a teenager: a 90 square meter chalet at JC Ferrero Equilite.

It is a training center 30 minutes from the port city of Alicante, owned by its coach, former tennis player and world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Last Sunday (16), Alcaraz won the Wimbledon Tournament by defeating Serb Novak Djokovic in the final by 3 sets 2 (1/6, 7/6, 6/1, 3/6 and 6/4). In addition to the trophy, he took prize money of US$3,064,000 (R$14,739,065).

When he goes to El Palmar, his hometown of 24,000 inhabitants, the best tennis player on the planet stays with his parents and occupies his childhood room.

“When he was 14, they made an offer to send him to the Bruguera Tennis Academy in Barcelona. It was impossible. I would have to pay 80,000 pesetas [480 euros ou R$ 2.590 pela cotação atual] . There were 40 thousand of the training [240 euros ou R$ 1.295] and 40 thousand for the pension. I earned 60,000 pesetas a month [360 euros ou R$ 1.943]”, said the grandfather, who is also called Carlos Alcaraz, to the newspaper El Español.

Who offered the chance was the Ferrero academy. At 16, the boy made his professional debut at the Rio Open.

Alcaraz moved to JC Ferrero Equelite, a complex with 20 courts with all floors, hotel, bodybuilding, physiotherapy, psychological and daily physical monitoring of the professionals who work at the gym.

The tennis player who now leads the ranking occupied one of the chalets at the rural hotel built on the site, overlooking the garden. At first, he lived in a small house of 25 square meters. During the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, he moved to a more spacious one, measuring 90 square meters, with a king size bed, where his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who reached the top of the ranking in 2003, lived.

Despite being compared to compatriot Rafael Nadal and touted as his successor, Alcaraz prefers faster surfaces, such as the grass at Wimbledon, rather than the clay at Roland Garros. His other Grand Slam title so far in his career came last year at the US Open, on a hard floor.

Despite his fame and fortune, he has sometimes said that he tries to lead the normal life of a 20-year-old. Which seems difficult for someone who lives in the same place where he trains every day.

He claims that when he goes to the Murcia region, where El Palmar is located, he is just a boy like any other. He likes to go out at night and has no problem consuming alcohol, but in small amounts.

In an interview with a TV channel in his country last year, he confessed that his parents take care of everything he earns. When he wants to buy something, he asks them for money. He is amused to remember that he still tries to convince them to give him a car. Every time he says he wants golf equipment, another passion of his, the answer is no.

He also keeps in practice the superstitions he acquired in tournaments on the circuit. When he’s winning, he uses the same shower for the entire tournament and repeats his outfit.

And, if he’s winning and reached the top of the ATP (Association of Professional Tennis Players), he sees no reason to leave the chalet where his coach lived.