Being Carlos Alcaraz: The Man Behind the Smile

by Mark Hodgkinson

'This is a wonderful book. I love it. Mark's research is amazing, with the in-depth interviews and level of detail providing great insights into who Carlos Alcaraz is.'
- Annabel Croft, broadcaster and former tennis

'A perfect match of author and subject. Mark Hodgkinson's mix of style and substance - flair and professionalism - mirrors Carlos Alcaraz on a tennis court.'
- Jon Wertheim, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated

'This is a great window into the background and processes of arguably the most exciting player in men's tennis right now.'
- Charlie Eccleshare, tennis correspondent for the New York Times and The Athletic

'A highly readable portrait of tennis's most exciting young talent.'
- Conor Niland, a former tennis player and the winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award 2024 for 'The Racket'

'This is a brilliant book. The detail on offer is extraordinary ... A cracking read for any tennis fan.'
- Courtney Walsh, Fox Sports in Australia

INSIDE THE MIND OF A YOUNG ICON CHASING TENNIS HISTORY
Based on new interviews with those closest to him - including coaches, friends, old teachers and other villagers - Being Carlos Alcaraz offers fresh insights into a tennis phenomenon. From a modest apartment above a kebab shop in the village of El Palmar to glory on the sport's biggest stages, this captivating book traces Alcaraz's emergence and contrasts his story against the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.

Grit. Joy. Swagger. Belief. The dark moments between the smiles. The tears. The broken racquets. The tension of wanting to be a normal young man while aspiring to tennis greatness. Being Carlos Alcaraz delves into the emotional and cultural forces that have shaped a modern icon - one destined to redefine tennis for years to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports

Audible Audio

Published September 4, 2025

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how someone so young could have achieved so much and have a book written about his successes so approached with curiosity

Read it and found out and soon realised what a remarkable sportsman and champion Carlos Alcaraz is

The author has done a sterling job in charting his life from humble beginnings to being the best tennis player in the world and how his unique personality has helped his game and indeed the sport

With the help of interviews and soundbites from previous World champions and friends and family we build a picture of this affable superstar and his brand of ‘happy tennis, it is no more than remarkable what he has achieved and continues to do so and all wrapped up with a genuine nice personality,we also learn of the pitfalls and the dangers of social media on a stars well being etc,rivalry and friendship with other stars is also featured,as us the stratospheric earning potential of modern day sports champions

The book is full of facts and anecdotes about the player and we come away feeling have learnt a lot about this true sports superstar,a worthy read

[n.]

intrigued as to how the author is going to write a biography about someone who is TWENTY-TWO?? but let’s see !

[Jeff Wait · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't love biographies/memoirs about people who are young, but this one is a lot of fun and does a good job chronicling how meteoric Alcaraz's rise has been. It kind of reminds me of Ben Rothenberg's biography of Naomi Osaka. It's very well-researched and gives a ton of insight into the life of Alcaraz. My biggest gripe is that it doesn't seem to adequately convey his rivalry with Sinner, treating it like a footnote in his greatness. Perhaps Giri Nathan's "Changeover" impacted my ability to separate the two. If you want a joyful biography with minimal sad parts, this one will do it for you.

[LiA · Rating 3 out of 5]

The AO are on, and the man, whose biography I promised to review (I got my eBook copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review), will try to reach next level (if that is even possible) and win the only slam he hasn’t won so far. He is 22 years old, and we might ask, whether a biography at such a young age makes sense at all. Mark Hodgkinson, who wrote books on / bios of Novak Dojokovic, Serena Williams, Roger Federer and others, is convinced that it does and – I guess – that it sells. After all, Carlos Alcaraz started playing tennis and competing at age 8, a real talent then, a superstar today, and world number 1 on top. And yet, there is only so much you can tell about an athlete, who has just left his teen age behind. Especially, one, who has dedicated his whole young life to one thing: tennis. Amazing as he is to watch – a biography needs a lot of background and behind the scenes input, in order to be really exciting. This is not an easy task, if the author has only ten or so years he can cover, because his subject of interest is not old enough to have experienced and done much (as in: enough to fill more pages than a double-page spread article in a newspaper or magazine).
Well, lets be positive and start of with a bit of praise: I like Mark Hodgkinson’s style in Being Carlos Alcaraz. The Man behind the Smile. I really enjoy his very journalistic way of writing. It is easy-going, full of verbal close-ups, linguistically factual and informative. There are also interesting details you learn, e.g. how sponsoring sports stars works these days – going from national to international corporations – or how to build a brand. Otherwise and unfortunately beyond this, there is a lot of repetitive stuff in this book, and relatively few original comments by people, who know Alcaraz better than the media and the tennis fans. Garbiñe Muguruza is quoted repeatedly, but she also wrote the foreword. The family, however, does not appear in person. Though it would have been interesting to read more about Carlos Alcaraz senior, his brothers (given that Alvaro accompanies is quite often in his box at tournaments), his mother, and their role. After all, this man apparently gave up his school career, in order to become the next GOAT. The missing statements of family members have me think that maybe they did not agree to the biography? Or not just yet.
So, does Hodgkinson tell us more than the Netflix documentary, which was screened at about the time, the book was work in progress and published? I did not compare both publications side by side, but I don’t think so. I liked the documentary more, because it felt much more authentic – and yes, I know, that authenticity in times, in which famous human beings need branding, is relative, anyway. Hodgkinson paints quite consistently a picture of a somewhat naive, but very friendly, always smiling youngster. He presents us a nice boy from a small town somewhere southern Spain, not a man, who has earned millions with his talent, his craft and athletic creativity on the tennis court. But as we know from other sports (or the tech start-up scene, for that matter): Whereas you are “old” at age 38 (or even 40 or 45, like Stan Wawrinka or Venus Williams, respectively) and still competing on the court (or pitch or race track ), the early or mid-20s today are much more mature (and sometimes also more successful) than previous generations. Therefore, we should not treat them as babies or carlitos them. Growing up in fame is definitely an accelerator. Thus, would someone really want to be the humble, always smiling country boy for ever? Framed this way in a biography for good? A talented and incredibly versatile and competent athlete does not want to be the eternal “younger version of xyz” (in this case Nadal), either. Especially, since tennis has changed and is still changeing a lot since the “Big 3” ruled.
While we still don’t know the true reasons behind the split with Juan Carlos Ferrero, his coach for the last eight years, Carlos Alcaraz may have already decided to step out of the picture, Hodgkinson paints in his book.
So, in summary I’d say that Being Carlos Alcaraz, in spite of being redundant here and there, and maybe necessarily limited in its scope, offers some interesting insights. If you haven’t followed everything there is to know about the gifted genius with a racquet in all the media available, you’ll certainly enjoy the book. However, I’d rather wait another ten years and then read an up-to-date biography about a great athlete and person. In the meantime, I happily feed on news feeds, sports magazines and – first and foremost – live matches (or replays).

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems strange reading a biography about someone still so young, but Carlos Alcaraz has packed an awful lot into his first 22 years. I’ve always been a tennis fan, and in my youth a regular player, so even though I don’t often read biographies this one caught my eye.

Briefly, Carlos was raised in El Palmar, a small town in Murcia, Spain and had an early grounding in tennis as his father was a tennis coach. He was raising a tennis racket from an early age, just 4 years old. It must’ve been clear to his family that this was always going to be his dream. Carlos received his first sponsorship contract at just 8 years of age but this was more a philanthropic gesture and this Murcia based company continued to finance him for many years. At 10 French sports equipment company Babolat started supporting him, and still does, and at 12 he got his first agent, who remains with him today. As a successful player Carlos is giving back and has set up a foundation supporting children from deprived families.

It is clear from reading this book that Carlos Alcaraz is genuinely a loyal and kind person. His family are heavily involved in his career and foundation and he spends a lot of his off circuit time back in Murcia. Having achieved so much at such a young age, breaking tennis records left right and centre, I loved how he has stayed so grounded and humble. Obviously we get to see the fun stuff; not the long hours of training, rivalry, jealously, days and months away from loved ones - it’s not all glamorous lifestyle. An interesting and enjoyable read.

[Elizabeth Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

am a huge tennis fan (and did get up at 3.30 earlier this year to join the Wimbledon queue as we hadn’t been lucky enough to get tickets in the ballot this year) - and after years of watching Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, have really enjoyed seeing the emergence of the next generation and the developing rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner.

So, with some reservations around the idea of reading the biography of a 22 year old, which perhaps seems a little premature, I was nevertheless intrigued to read Being Carlos Alcaraz by Mark Hodgkinson - and it proved to be a fascinating insight into just how this phenomenon has achieved so much at such a young age, and yet remained apparently so grounded, and someone it is hard not to warm to thanks to his endearing personality.

It is a book that takes you back to all that has got him to where he is now - about his upbringing and his family, and the way that has helped keep him very much grounded, but also his drive and determination, and the challenges he has faced living up to the expectations placed upon him.

I was a huge Alcaraz fan already - but this additional insight means I will be rooting for him a little harder going forward.

[Naturalbri (Bri Wignall) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love tennis. Both our kids play, and we also play for fun, and all of us enjoy watching tennis. Alcaraz is brilliant to watch play and he is great to have the kids watch to learn what it is to be competitive and a good sportsman , so, when I saw this book I knew I had to read it and read it to my daughter to inspire her. I then looked up the author and saw he is clearly the long of tennis biographies. He is also, clearly, quite good at it as this book was brilliant. It lays out all of Alcaraz's sport life, in great detail, but also looks at the man behind the smile. We see what makes him, what drives him and what helps him carry on even in times when things are not going to plan. We see all the background, and we also see onto the court. It is like seeing the exact mindset of him as he plays and as he prepares. I thought this was clearly well researched, well written and quite inspirational..a very good biography indeed.

[Huang Qiqi · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the star it was 4 stars. But the chapters got repetitive as different individuals repeating the same comments (or at the gist of it). Overall it validates what we see as tennis fans, how Alcaraz is one of a kind, how he brings so much passion and joy to the games despite losing in the games, or a bad cramp, a frustrating injury, or his acned face when he won the first US open. His focus and resilience is out of this world. Came back from three championship points will forever be my inspiration.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Carlitos’ game and thought this would be a good holiday read. It was informative and gives an insight into his early years and the people who’ve supported him to get to where he is. The writing though… bit of a drag. There’s a whole chapter on his smile if that gives you anything to go by.

[Adam Wynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read- a little repetitive

[Yudeshtra Naidoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring. Alcatraz’s passion and love for tennis is contagious.
His focus and dedication is a lesson for all.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this very much! Liked the variety of voices & interviews referenced to get many different opinions and aspects on one player. Carlos is my favourite tennis player and it’s interesting to see how the author described the “big three” and the similarities & differences of them compared to Carlos, whilst acknowledging he’s his own player- and also as A Gen Z player and the age of social media and fan culture bigger than ever, how he deals with it and why he’s so liked. Great first read of the year!

[Katherine Wacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his book, Being Carlos Alcaraz, The Man Behind the Smile, Mark Hodgkinson takes an in-depth look at the top-ranked tennis player in the world. Beginning with the young phenom’s beginnings in a small town in Spain, the author recounts how Alcaraz honed his tennis skills in obscurity which would eventually lead to Grand Slam Titles on the greatest courts around the world. Using various interviews of his closest associates as well as published accounts from media outlets, Hodgkinson relays what drives the 22-year-old and how he carries himself on and off the court. Not surprisingly, the author details how Alcaraz has dealt with being under the shadow of Rafael Nadal, and the inevitable comparisons and expectations that come with it.

Being Carlos Alcaraz is an interesting portrayal of someone who is still young. The author shows his personal knowledge of his subject and the game he so enthusiastically plays. He also describes the aspects of Alcaraz’s play that make him distinct from other players’ style. He explains the intriguing relationship with fellow countryman Nadal. However, this book has one major flaw throughout the narrative. It feels like the author is too close to his subject matter. As a result, he is not as objective as he should be. Finally, it feels odd to read a biography who is still in his mid-twenties. However, if you enjoy reading about the prolific personalities of tennis, Being Carlos Alcaraz, might be a match for you.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Nate Bragg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being Carlos Alcaraz is another great edition to the long list of tennis biographies written in recent years. Author Mark Hogkinson goes into deep detail of Alcaraz's upbringing, interviewing family, friends, and trainers, and painting a clear picture of one of modern sport's bright young stars.

I enjoyed reading this book, and Hodgkinson clearly put a lot of time, research, and care into cultivating sources and getting this right, even with limited or perhaps no access to Alcaraz himself. All that being said I did feel that this book is probably coming out a bit too earlier into Alcaraz's career, it's a great story of the development of a prodigy but lacks tension and can come off as a large PR piece at times.

There's no doubt that Alcaraz is one of the great tennis players of his generation and has the potential to be one of the best of all time, and this book does a phenomenal job of building that argument. The sections showing the differences between Carlos and Rafa were among my favorites as I felt that it went far beyond what you'd hear during Grand Slam broadcasts.

I'd recommend this book to tennis fans and/or anyone interested in a nice story on modern athlete development.

Overall 4.25/5 Stars and I hope there's an update or continuation to come as Alcaraz' career continues.

Thank You to NetGalley and Octopus Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not play tennis, but I am a huge fan of watching Wimbledon on the TV, it's really the only sport that I love to watch and I'd love to actually sit on Centre Court and watch a match. My parents are not in the. least sporty, it was my Nana who introduced me to the tennis on TV in the 1980s. I'd go round to her house (just around the corner), and we would watch for hours.

Whilst the 'bad boy' players such as McEnroe and more recently, Nick Kyrgios, are entertaining to watch for a while, I really love the skilled, yet gentlemanly players. Rafa Nadal is my all time favourite and his successor, Carlos Alcaraz has really stolen my heart in recent years.

In Being Carlos Alcaraz Hodgkinson has produced something that is both readable and respectful, that balances the shine of Carlos Alcaraz’s achievements with the grit behind them.

Carlos Alcaraz is already a superstar, even at a young age—Grand Slams, world number ones, comparisons with legends. Hodgkinson digs into that, yes, but also pulls back to show us the beginnings: a modest childhood in Murcia, family influences, the traditions, the sacrifices. We meet coaches, old teachers, competitors. We see the smile, the charm, but also the complexity: what it takes to keep going, the pressures, the expectations.

Being Carlos is very much worth your time. It doesn’t just celebrate a tennis phenomenon; it humanises him. I closed the final page feeling not only impressed by Alcaraz’s accomplishments, but also warmed by the sense of what drives him: heart, humility, determination (and yes, the smile).

[Luma · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Carlitos fan, I loved this. The insight into the life of the most charismatic player on tour endeared this book to me nearly as much as the man himself.

Mark's book is timely and deeply researched, with input from big names in tennis, family friends, and lifelong mentors. The little anecdotes were entertaining and offered a real insider's look into his personality. Besides, and by no means implying Carlitos, as a generational talent, can be replicated, it was a delight to learn the ingredients that created both the phenomenal tennis player and the beautiful human.

This was definitely worth the read for me, as it not only compiled information already available on Carlos Alcaraz but also introduced new bits I was unaware of. It made me interested in what Mark Hodgkinson had to say about in his other book about Novak Djokovic!

Thanks Netgalley and Octopus Publishing for the arc!