Fresh from his semifinal exit at this year's US Open, Carlos Alcaraz chose to return to his native Murcia, where he was pictured in attendance at a bullfighting match.
Alcaraz was unsuccessful in his title defense in New York, where he lost to Russia's Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the semifinal stage. The 20-year-old also lost the World No. 1 ranking on the ATP Tour during the tournament to Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
Instead of dwelling on that disappointment, Alcaraz made the trip home to break the tennis monotony. He was photographed watching a bullfighting match on Monday at the Plaza de Toros de La Condomina, a famous bullring located in the Spanish city of Murcia and which houses a capacity crowd of up to 15,000 people.
Alcaraz was given a huge round of applause when he appeared in the alley of the bullring before greeting a few fans as he took his seat in the company of prominent Spanish bullfighter Peperin Liria and former football coach Jose Antonio Camacho.
Fundación Toro Lidia, the organization that stages bullfighting events in Spain shared the snapshots of Alcaraz in the building. The two-time Grand Slam champion was greeted by Alejandro Talavante who was a contestant during the match, and Alcaraz later on posed for pictures with important figures in the world of bullfighting.
Spain is one of the very few countries in the world where the traditional but often controversial spectacle is allowed. Although contestants and attendees argue that bullfighting is part of their cultural heritage, concerns about animal cruelty remain.
It was not a surprise that Alcaraz received a backlash against participating in the controversial sport as an attendee to unwind from a physically draining North American summer. Tennis fans did not spare him, labeling him as a supporter of animal abuse, and questioning Alcaraz's motives as his character goes against his actions in this case.
0 Comments