9 Spanish tennis players who have reached the Top-5 in ATP rankings ft. Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz has moved up one place to break into the top-5 of the ATP rankings for the first time ever. Alcaraz thus became the ninth Spaniard to occupy a place in the top-5 since the creation of the rankings in 1973.

"Carlos Alcaraz today becomes the NINTH Spaniard to be Top 5 in the ATP ranking since its creation in 1973. Moya (#1), Ferrero (#1), Nadal (#1), Orantes (#2), Corretja (#2), Bruguera (#3), Ferrer (#3), Robredo (#5), ALCARAZ (#5)"

Three Spaniards - Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Rafael Nadal - have risen to occupy the top slot in the ATP rankings in the past.

Carlos Moya was the first player from Spain to rise to the helm of world tennis when he became World No. 1 in 1999. Moya could only retain the position for a couple of weeks.

Juan Carlos Ferrero dislodged Andre Agassi to occupy the coveted slot in September 2003 for eight weeks while Rafael Nadal became World No. 1 for the first time in 2008.

Nadal has been ranked World No. 1 for 209 weeks and finished the year as the top-ranked tennis player in the world on five occasions.

Manuel Orantes and Alex Corretja both had a career-high ranking of World No. 2 which they attained in 1973 and 1999 respectively. Sergi Bruguera finished 1994 as World No. 4 after having been No. 3 in August that year while David Ferrer broke into the ATP top-3 in July 2013.

Alcaraz could well have risen to become the fourth-ranked player in the world had he managed to get past Lorenzo Musetti in the final of the Hamburg European Open but lost to the Italian 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in an intense final.

Carlos Alcaraz becomes youngest to breach top-5 since Rafael Nadal in 2005

Carlos Alcaraz in action at the Hamburg European Open 2022

Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to have breached the top-5 since fellow countryman Rafael Nadal, who did so in 2005 as an 18-year-old. He thus became the second-youngest player in the 21st century to have made the mark.

"It means a lot. The hard work that I put in every day for reaching my dreams, [No.] 1, and little by little I’m reaching my dream Top five, for me it is pretty amazing and I will keep going to be [No.] 1,” Alcaraz said on breaking into the top-5.

The teen sensation began the year as World No. 32. He was seeded 31st at the Australian Open after receiving a Grand Slam seeding for the first time in his career.

Alcaraz was seeded sixth at the French Open but lost to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. Seeded fifth at Wimbledon, the 19-year-old went down to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.

Both Nadal and Alcaraz have won four tournaments each this season. The teenager triumphed in Rio and Barcelona before going on to triumph at the ATP Masters events in Miami and Madrid.

Nadal won the Melbourne Summer Set before clinching the Australian Open. He extended his winning run to win the Mexican Open and created history by reigning supreme at Roland Garros for a 14th title.