Carlos Alcaraz is back at Wimbledon and has completed his first training session on the pristine grass of SW19.
Alcaraz enjoyed a dream summer 12 months ago, competing at Queen's and then Wimbledon. He won his first professional grass-court title at the Cinch Championships, beating Alex de Minaur in the final.
And just a few weeks later, Alcaraz punched above his weight by outlasting four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
The Spaniard's prominence skyrocketed with a massive increase in social media followers as he retained the World No. 1 ranking. This season, Alcaraz will enter the Wimbledon draw as World No. 3 after a costly second-round loss to British lefty-hander Jack Draper at Queen's.
He now faces the prospect of being the number three seed at the Championships if Djokovic recovers from knee surgery to play. The Serbian will pass him in the standings when the ATP updates the rankings next week.
Alcaraz is not wasting time before his title defense in London gets underway at 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday, July 1st. In images posted by Wimbleon's X account (formerly Twitter), he was spotted at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) grounds enjoying his first hit under a grey cloud.
The 21-year-old was exuding positivity, as he was all smiles and competing without the protective arm sleeve that he wore during the clay-court swing because of a forearm injury.
Alcaraz expects his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, to return on duty this week. The 44-year-old missed his compatriot's title defense at Queen's, which was understandable after an exhausting fortnight at the French Open, where he helped his pupil win his third Grand Slam.
The Murcia native has posted a 26-6 record for the season, winning not only the French Open but also Indian Wells in early March. Alcaraz's busy European schedule continues at Wimbledon and then at the Olympics in Paris.
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