Carlos Alcaraz accepted his racket sponsors challenge on April Fools' Day, unaware that he was being pranked.
Alcaraz is currently using a Pure Aero VS tennis racket from the French company Babolat. He is one of Babolat's biggest ambassadors, along with 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz has used their rackets from the age of 10 while competing in an international tournament in Spain.
Last year, the 20-year-old signed a contract extension until 2030 and will be expected to fulfill the company's long-term vision once Nadal steps away from the limelight.
Recently, Alcaraz was filmed in a short humorous segment by his sponsors. The challenge involved Alcaraz hitting tennis balls over the roof of a house until one of them landed on its target on the opposite end. The target, in this case, was an open basket on a tennis court.
A Babolat team member fed Alcaraz three tennis balls, all of which missed the mark. But on his fourth attempt, he was told that he had succeeded. He jumped for joy and requested to be shown the footage.
"No way, no way. I have to see the video."
The Babolat camera crew obliged. Upon watching the replay, Alcaraz realized that he missed the target in all four tries and hilariously told his employers that they "hurt" his feelings before he was reminded it was an April Fools' prank played on him.
"You have hurt my feelings. It was so obvious. You all guys. But it was close. At least that's something."
Alcaraz concluded the spring hard-court swing of the United States with a quarterfinal defeat in Miami. But before that, he ended his long title drought by winning the Indian Wells Masters for a second time.
The two-time Grand Slam champion dropped to a two-year low in the rankings following Jannik Sinner's Miami Open triumph. Alcaraz will attempt to wrestle the throne from the Italian's grasp when he switches surfaces in April.
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