Photo Source: Matthew Calvis
Carlos Alcaraz will turn 21 in a few days. Already he’s one of the most recognizable stars in tennis, and the man who has, along with Jannik Sinner more recently, shouldered the burden of taking tennis into its post Big Three era.
That’s an enormous amount of pressure for a young man to handle, and in his recently released Netflix documentary “My Way,” fans get a glimpse of the inner workings of the mind of Carlitos, as well as the extreme dedication and professionalism of the team around him.
After binge-watching all three episodes today, we’ve got thoughts. For those who have yet to see the documentary, here’s what it is all about – and why you should watch if you get the chance.
1. He has a trophy room loaded with tennis shoes
Alcaraz keeps his trophies and a stash of mint tennis shoes in the same room at his home. The first episode starts there.
2. He says there is no food like his mothers and he plans to live with her until he’s 50:
Alcaraz spends as much time at home as possible when he’s away from the tour and his team makes an effort to go there to help him train so he doesn’t have to miss out on family time.
3. His fear is that Tennis becomes an obligation for him:
I constantly feel like I’m trapped, he said, and that triggers in me anxiety, frustration, and doubt. So much so, I have to ask myself, do I really want this. Do I really want to live this life?
4. Golf can be a savior:
There’s a nice scene where Carlos is taken to play golf with his team at Indian Wells and it puts the smile back on his dial. He ends up relaxing and the difference is obvious in his tennis, as he wins his first title in the California desert. It’s a good example of how Alcaraz is trying to deal with the stress and pressures of being a superstar while at the same time seeking balance in his personal life. Golf isn’t the only activity, there’s also quality time with his family and just being one of the guys, away from the spotlight, away from the demands of his obligations as his star rises.
It’s clearly something he has yet to master.
5. His relationship with his agent Alberto Molina is very important:
You can see how important Molina is when Alcaraz ends up being late for a player's outing in Madrid by a half-hour and Molina, who was formerly the agent of David Ferrer, is frustrated with him and ends up turning the episode into a lesson about being punctual and showing respect for his peers. Molina seems like the perfect agent, almost an extension of the family, and willing to be stern when the situation calls for it.
6. Carlos can be fragile:
In the first episode, we learn a lot about how Carlos processes and deals with his injuries, and the interviews with his coach, Juan, Carlos Ferrero and his agent and other members of his team, give a lot of insight into how he processes information, psychologically, and how he doesn’t feel good playing if his body is not 100% perfect. It’s a thing he will have to learn to deal with as his career progresses. We see this through the prism of his forearm injury, which caused mighty struggles last season, including a withdrawal from Barcelona and a loss to Andrey Rublev in Madrid.
It should be taken with a grain of salt: Alcaraz overcame his doubts, won his maiden Roland-Garros title at the end of the spring, even while cramping during a semifinal against his biggest rival Sinner. This is important because Alcaraz also cramped the previous year in the semifinals and ended up winning just two of final 14 games against Djokovic in a tragic loss, but this time he is able to deal with the pain and soldier through.
7. Carlitos likes to get his drink on:
There’s a great scene of him partying after winning Roland-Garros in 2024 and he talks about drinking wine, champagne and everything else. Then of course there’s a flashback to a trip to Ibiza after Roland Garros in 2023 where he blows off some steam in the nightclub scene. The kid likes to have fun, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
But it does cause (not the drinking but the urge to be young and free – again, who could blame him?) some consternation among his team, who fret over Alcaraz’s decision to head to Ibiza after Roland-Garros and believe that is why he didn’t play well in his first week on the grass.
8. The Dream Team?
In episode 2 there’s a special focus on Alcaraz's team and the sacrifices they make, and the commitment they display to help Carlos be the best player in the world. It’s insightful to see just how much sacrifice there is. Of course, die-hard Tennis fans know this, but to feel the emotion of it and see how it relates to Carlitos and the pressure he must feel to carry this giant burden of ambition – it’s a lot of pressure and you can feel it through all of them.
In the same way, you can also see how dedicated and professional his team is and how it’s extremely important that he has this type of support and these high expectations to keep driving him.
9. Words of wisdom from Nadal:
There’s plenty of Nadal in this series, and the moments with the King of Clay are poignant and candid.
Here’s what Nadal says about Carlos’ quest for greatness:
“To reach those numbers, you need many years, no matter how good you are. You can’t do it in five years, you have to be able to live with that motivation or that ultimate goal in mind and pursue it until you really achieve it.”
10. Double Heartbreak:
We live the pain in Alcaraz’s heart after a traumatizing doubles loss in the Olympics next to Nadal.
“It really bothered me a lot because this dream vanished into thin air,” said Alcaraz. “It really hurt me a lot.”
Nadal gives his thoughts on his last Olympic moment.
“It was painful for me because that was the last chance I had to win a medal, and I think it would’ve been really nice to win a meal with him, too.” Nadal said, adding: “But he has greater challenges ahead of him.” The Olympics in 2024 turned out to be a double heartbreak for Alcaraz as he lost the final to Djokovic and broke down in tears afterwards. We get to see the very real emotions he experienced after that match while doing an on-court interview with Alex Corretja.
11. Learning from the best:
Alcaraz takes great pleasure from spending time with Federer and Nadal. There are some great Federer cameo moments during the Laver Cup section of Episode 3.
“How could you not pick something up from one of the great players in history?” Alcaraz says.
The Spanaird said he asked Federer one question and this is it:
“I asked him what he did to keep himself motivated for so many years?” Acaraz said. “He told me that you have to enjoy the journey. You always need to make sure you have fun at the tournaments no matter where they are the friends you’re with the things you do. Go to the movies… you always need to have something fun to do wherever you go.”
12. In the end, it’s about balance and maturity:
Alcaraz says it best at the end of episode three, and he really sums up his struggles and what it is like to walk in his shoes, with so much talent and desire, but also a presence and a wherewithal that allows him to understand the true meaning of life.
“My dream is to become one of the greatest players in history. I want to sit at the same table as the big three do, but do I really have the mindset to do everything it takes? To deal with everything so I can become the greatest player in history? Right now I don’t know. I’m still young. I have a lot ahead of me, but from what I’ve lived so far, I definitely prefer to put happiness before any kind of accomplishment. because being happy is an accomplishment. And happiness isn’t always easy to find.”