This Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz will once again play for his place in the history of world tennis, facing Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final. While all eyes are on the center court of the All England Club, his parents, Carlos and Virginia Garfia, are also making headlines. It's all because they've confessed their son's big secret.
Yes, in the footballer's documentary, A mi manera, they've revealed just how deep his passion for the sport goes. It's a point at which he's shed many tears. They've also made clear what they expect from the young man's future.
The confession that reveals Carlos Alcaraz's secret
Carlos Alcaraz hasn't reached where he is by chance. Behind his victories and trophies, there's a family story built on love, effort, and total dedication to the sport.
His father has been a direct witness to the inner fire that has driven his son since he could barely hold a racket. He has shared this in the recently aired documentary.
The Alcaraz patriarch recalled it with emotion: "There was no way to get him off the court. I was tired and ready to go home after working all day. He would beg me: 'Play with me, here at the wall!'"
Those everyday moments repeated themselves over and over. Even when the day was over for everyone else, the tennis player wanted to keep hitting balls.
He said: "It would be after 9:00 p.m. (21:00), and I'd tell him: 'Okay, but just 20 minutes.' After 20 minutes, we'd keep going for another 30 minutes, and he wanted more. I'd tell him: 'This can't go on, we have to go home,' and he'd start crying again."
This seemingly simple scene holds Carlos Alcaraz's great hidden secret: his vital need to play tennis, to live and breathe it every minute. That childhood obsession, far from fading, has been the fuel that has taken him to the biggest finals.
The pride and fears of Carlos and Virginia for Carlos Alcaraz
The documentary A mi manera doesn't just reveal endearing anecdotes from the past. It also shows the most human and fragile side of the family. Especially Virginia Garfia, Carlos Alcaraz's mother, who has opened her heart and confessed her own fears about what awaits her son in the future.
She has admitted that she feels proud of her son, but also worried. She has confessed it by saying: "People expect him to be like Rafa, a legend. I don't want them to turn him into a broken toy."
This phrase, as direct as it is honest, highlights the media and emotional pressure that falls on the young Murcian. Carlos Alcaraz is a great champion, but he also carries the expectation of repeating a career as colossal as Nadal's. It's an unfair standard, even for the most talented.
His parents know it and try to protect him, but, at the same time, they're aware that he's not just any boy. He's an exceptional athlete who, since childhood, has known exactly what he wanted to do with his life. They only hope that fame doesn't sweep him away.
This Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz will play the Wimbledon final. Everything suggests that his parents, as on so many other occasions, will be in the box, supporting him with the same intensity as always. They've been there since those endless afternoons on the practice court, and they know better than anyone everything he's sacrificed to be where he is.
The confession from Carlos and Virginia in the documentary has allowed fans to get to know the most intimate side of the footballer. Yes, the boy who cried because he wanted to keep playing, the young man who today faces the best in the world as an equal. The son who, despite his success, still keeps his family as his main pillar.