Rafael Nadal confident Carlos Alcaraz can overtake his 22 Slam tally, under 1 condition

Former World No.1 Rafael Nadal is optimistic that Carlos Alcaraz can leapfrog his tally of 22 Slams in his career. Nadal reckons the youngster can go past his record if he stays injury-free. Alcaraz has already won six Slams in his young career.

The Spaniard won two Majors in 2025, the Roland Garros and the US Open. Alcaraz lost the Wimbledon final against his main rival, Jannik Sinner. 

The 22-year-old has ticked the right boxes in his career and he has definitely shown the skills to go a long way.

Nadal said in an interview with El Larguero, “I don’t tend to have high expectations, I’ve always seen him as very good, with the potential to make history in our sport. 22 Grand Slams? Why not? Six is already a lot and he has a spectacular trajectory,” Nadal said (translated from Spanish).

The 22-time Grand Slam champion said it would be imperative for Alcaraz to remain healthy in his career.

“The most important thing is that he doesn’t get injured. If you don’t have injuries, I think you also don’t lose confidence in your body and that keeps you improving,” he added.

Alcaraz lost the Nitto ATP Finals against Jannik Sinner in the recently concluded season but ended the year as the World No.1 in the PIF ATP rankings.

Meanwhile, Nadal was unlucky as he faced a lot of trouble with injuries throughout his career. 

After Alcaraz won the US Open title, Nadal backed him to have a glittering career.

Nadal had said during a charity Golf tournament, “Yes, he’s having an impressive career. He is a very special player, we’ve known that for years, but time keeps confirming it, and he is making what is already an impressive career even better.”

“His career seems to be headed toward something unique. Hopefully, he can have a very long career, which is what he also needs to reach certain numbers, and hopefully injuries stay away and everything goes great for him… And well, let’s leave him be. He has six, which is an incredible number at his age, and hopefully he gets as many as he can.”