The young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Garfia won the Barcelona Open 2022 title and went on to become the 9th ranked player. Alcaraz defeated the fellow Spanish player Pablo Carreño Busta at the ATP 500 tournament to enter the Top- 10 of the world tennis rankings.
Incidentally, Carlos achieved this brilliant feat on the same date as his idol Rafael Nadal. Seventeen years ago, that is in 2005, Nadal reached this milestone on 25th April. Mirroring his role-model and fellow Spanish champion, Carlos Alcaraz attained the World No.9 label on the same date this year after his final win at the Barcelona Open.
A number of players who are currently playing have entered the Top-10 ranking in different stages of their career. Although Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz are the only active players present in the first 10 players of the list, other players such as Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner etc. have reached the Top-10 at a later age of their career.
Here is the list of Youngest ATP Top-10 ranked players
| Rank | Name | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Krickstein | 17 years 11 days |
| 2 | Michael Chang | 17 years 3 months 19 days |
| 3 | Boris Becker | 17 years 7 months 16 days |
| 4 | Mats Wilander | 17 years 10 months 21 days |
| 5 | Björn Borg | 17 years 11 months 27 days |
| 6 | Andre Agassi | 18 years 1 months 7 days |
| 7 | Andrei Medvedev | 18 years 9 months 7 days |
| 8 | Rafael Nadal | 18 years 10 months 22 days |
| 9 | Carlos Alcaraz Garfia | 18 years 11 months 20 days |
| 10 | Jimmy Arias | 18 years 11 months 23 days |
| 11 | Goran Ivanisevic | 19 years 11 days |
| 12 | Pete Sampras | 19 years 29 days |
| 13 | Stefan Edberg | 19 years 30 days |
| 14 | Lleyton Hewitt | 19 years 2 months 19 days |
| 15 | Pat Cash | 19 years 3 months 14 days |
| 16 | Kent Carlsson | 19 years 5 months 12 days |
| 17 | John McEnroe | 19 years 7 months 14 days |
| 18 | Novak Djokovic | 19 years 9 months 28 days |
| 19 | Andy Murray | 19 years 11 months 1 day |
| 20 | Andy Roddick | 19 years 11 months 6 days |
| 21 | Juan Martin Del Potro | 20 years 13 days |
| 22 | Alexander Zverev | 20 years 1 month 2 days |
| 23 | Alberto Mancini | 20 years 1 month 21 days |
| 24 | Jannik Sinner | 20 years 2 months 16 days |
| 25 | Henrik Sundstrom | 20 years 3 months 11 days |
| 26 | Sergi Bruguera | 20 years 3 months 13 days |
| 27 | Ivan Lendl | 20 years 4 months |
| 28 | Marat Safin | 20 years 4 months 16 days |
| 29 | Marcelo Rios | 20 years 4 months 18 days |
| 30 | Carlos Moya | 20 years 5 months |
Alcaraz outplayed Pablo Carreño at the Barcelona Open final in straight sets- 6-3 and 6-2. Speaking about his thoughts on securing the World No.9 rank, Carlos said- “I’m happy to know that I’m in the Top 10 at 18 years old, and doing it on the same date as my idol Rafa is amazing.”
Furthermore, Carlos Alcaraz has been displaying consistent performances this year. After winning the Rio Open and Miami Open titles this year, the recent Barcelona Open is the third event the 18-year-old Spaniard has won in 2022.
