Carlos Alcaraz is the No. 1 tennis player in the world for good reason, and he raised the bar for himself on Sunday.
Alcaraz faced off against Brandon Nakashima on Sunday in a quarterfinal at the Japan Open in Tokyo, and pulled off one of the shots of the year. Nakashima seemingly had Alcaraz beaten, but the Spaniard managed to stretch out for a backhand flick that he managed to clear the net with despite coming at it from a nearly impossible angle.
STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 28, 2025
CARLOS ALCARAZ HITS ONE OF THE SHOTS OF THE YEAR
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS, YOU DON'T LIKE TENNIS
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/x1ooAXxGD6
Nakashima could do nothing about that winner. He looked like he almost hurt his ankles trying to stop himself in order to lunge at it, but he had no hope of pulling that off.
Alcaraz wound up winning the match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, marking his 65th victory of the calendar year already. He won both the French Open and US Open this year, and was also runner-up at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz clearly is not slowing down anytime soon. Maybe that new haircut is working for him, or perhaps the new girlfriend has something to do with it.
