Victories, doubts, fears, sinner and the difficult balance between private life and the obsession with success … The young champion gets bare in the new Netflix documentary
Ten months a year around the world, in the ATP tour: a rhythm that also for Carlos Alcaraz, predestined for world tennis, is heavy. The distance from the family and friends weighs, as he himself admits in the mini-docuserie “Carlos Alcaraz: my way”available on Netflix in three episodes.
With this new title, Netflix It continues to enrich its catalog of sports documentaries, in particular those dedicated to tennis, offering varieties and stories of great interest. This time, however, it is the Spanish phenomenon – already considered the great rival of ours Jannik Sinner After just two years – to get involved in a personal and authentic confession. At just 22 years old, Alcaraz already has a lot to tell and does it in three episodes capable of exciting even those who are not a passionate of balls and rackets.
A number one life, but at what price?
“Carlos Alcaraz: my way” It is much more than a simple sports documentary: it is a real intimate story. Alcaraz puts herself completely bare, without filters, showing not only the successes, but also the most fragile sides of her personality. The term “predestined” is often abused in sport, but it has rarely seemed so fit as for him. Born in Murcia, capable of becoming number 1 of the ATP circuit at only 19 years old, winner of Wimbledon, Roland Garros, US Open and several Masters 1000, Alcaraz has already set one foot in history.
Yet, in the age of the image, where everything is entertainment and communication, it is easy for the real identity of the athletes to be blurred. The champions, often described as invincible, perfect, seem to live on an unattainable plane. But on the other side there are also those who wait for the first mistake to hit them. The series shows this double face of celebrityrevealing the reality of a nomadic life made more than gyms, stadiums, press rooms and changing rooms than real cities to visit.
Tennis, among the most violent sports psychologically, clearly emerges as a background of this existential effort. Through Carlos’ gaze, we perceive loneliness, constant pressure, the obligation to always win, the weight of stress and long expectations.
An authentic portrait, between triumphs and fragility
The documentary opens from the Carlos bedroom, where the shelves are full of shoes and trophies instead of books. This is where Alcaraz underlines his “love-hatred” for tennis. The Slam has already won them, has known the joy of becoming the number 1 in the world, yet now it is short of reasons: “I have to have fun, if I’m not well off the pitch, I’m not even well on the pitch -he says -. When they ask me what is my greatest fear, I reply: “Consider tennis as an obligation”. And I wonder if I really want it, I want to continue? “.
This profound reflection between doubts and impulses towards the future becomes the common thread of the entire series. For Alcaraz, being part of the tennis elite is fine, but he is also a 21 year old who wants to go out, go to the disco or take a holiday in Ibiza. “My dream? Being the best tennis player in history -says Alcaraz -. In my own way. I need to do the things that would do a normal boy “.
And it is precisely here that the real challenge presents himself: to become the best tennis player in history, winning four Slam is not enough. It is necessary to maintain very high levels of performance for twenty years, exceeding legends such as Djokovic (24 Slam), Nadal (22 Slam, including 14 Roland Garros) and Federer (20 Slam). It is a marathon that requires a spirit of absolute sacrifice, as Rafael Nadal points out: “If you seem to sacrifice too much time to tennis, you will not get to the goal, because you will find yourself exhausted before the finish line”.
Life beyond tennis
How then to reconcile private life and sports career? A question that for Alcaraz is still open, while others, like Jannik Sinner, seem to live it differently.
“Alcaraz is a difficult player to face – says Sinner – there is great rivalry among us. If he wins, my training sessions become more intense “. A declaration that highlights the different approach between the two young champions.
Directed by Jorge Laplace, “Carlos Alcaraz: my way” He does not just tell his career and successes, but focuses on how Carlos lives all this: his gaze on fear, anxiety, on the difficulties to be overcome in the body and mind, the relationship with the family and with the coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the need to have the right people next to it, especially at the beginning of such a difficult path.
Next to the matches and tournaments, the most human moments also emerge: the management of injuriespain, of extra-tennistic eventsthe sponsor pressurecontrol of theanxiety On negative days, the tearsand yes, also the nights in Ibiza (between Roland Garros and Wimbledon).
But to find out everything else, you just have to look at the series.
