Carlos Alcaraz’s rise is as meteoric as his meteorite Rolex

Text by Ana Franco

If Carlos Alcaraz is superstitious, he will never take off the Rolex that has accompanied him in some of the milestones of his still incipient sporting career. Because it brings him luck. The tennis player, who won his first Grand Slam title in 2022, the US Open, beat Serbia‘s Novak Djokovic the following year at Wimbledon in the final. And he celebrated with a gold Cosmograph Daytona, the same one he wore yesterday just before receiving the Musketeers‘ Cup that accredits him as the winner of Roland Garros 2024. His feat, at 21 years of age, and yet another triumph for the Swiss Rolex, who kept an eye on the Spaniard and made him their ambassador at the beginning of 2022.

Carlitos then joined a long list of epoch-making players with the ensign of the crown behind them, such as Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Björn Borg and Jim Courier. Also Chris Evert, Garbiñe Muguruza and Iga Świątek, who on Saturday 8 June won her fourth women’s singles title on the red clay of Paris. The watchmaker has been associated with the sport for more than 40 years (it has been the official timekeeper of Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament, since 1978), supporting major events and its most competitive stars. As soon as its managers spot a tennis player with potential, they are there to help him or her.

Alcaraz, called to noble deeds since he was a child because of his fresh, surprising and resourceful play, always wears Rolex in interviews, events and press conferences. Even immediately after the end of a match. To the envy of those with a keen eye, lately it is a Cosmograph Daytona chronograph, one of the most coveted icons of haute horlogerie.

After his victory at Roland Garros yesterday (his first), Carlos once again chose one of the most exclusive Daytona watches, the Meteorite, because its dial is made from a ‘slice’ of a meteorite that shows the inner structure of the celestial body. The watch in question, which is automatic, is not in the company’s current catalogue, which can be consulted on its website. The price of its yellow gold version with black ceramic bezel and Oysterflex bracelet can reach 100,000 euros. It is as unique and extraterrestrial as the champion from El Palmar.