"Missing the most exciting player since Federer, Nadal & Djokovic" - Tennis fans question Carlos Alcaraz exclusion from 'New Golden Age' of tennis

Tennis fans recently expressed their displeasure with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz failing to make the cut to feature in GQ's "New Golden Age of Tennis" list.

The greats of the game are almost at the twilight of their careers. And it's just a few years' time before the baton will be passed on to the younger generation.

Published by GQ Magazine on Twitter, the "7 Young Stars Poised to Take Over Tennis" includes the likes of American duo Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini also made an appearance alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas. Former World No. 2 Casper Ruud also made the cut, followed by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Holger Rune.

The Magazine soon faced the wrath of tennis fans as they ridiculed their decision to exclude former Grand Slam winner Alcaraz. Last year, following his triumph at the US Open, the Spaniard became the youngest male player to become the World No. 1 in the ATP rankings.

One fan compared Alcaraz's exclusion to that of excluding NBA great LeBron James from a similar "new era of NBA" piece in 2003.

"WILD to not include Alcaraz here. That would be like doing a ‘new era of the NBA’ piece in 2003 without LeBron."

Another fan questioned the decision not to include the 19-year-old World No. 1 on the list.

"Why was Carlos Alcaraz who is not only young at 19 years old but also world number 1. not included?

Another fan called the other players on the list "frauds" and criticized them for not including Alcaraz.

"no way they put all the frauds in the same picture and forgot world #1 Carlos."

Fans kept questioning the exclusion of the Spanish youngster, one calling him the most exciting player since the Big Three.

"Lol literally missing the most exciting player since Roger, rafa and Novak. Oh and current world number 1 and highlight machine @carlosalcaraz."

Below are a few more reactions:

Carlos Alcaraz returned to training this week

Nitto ATP Finals - Day Four

In a recent social media post, the current World No. 1 shared pictures of himself hitting the practice nets on a clay court as part of his recovery.

Alcaraz was last seen in action at the 2022 Paris Masters, where he lost to Holger Rune in the quarterfinals.

Carlos Alcaraz missed the ATP Finals Tour and the Davis Cup Finals due to an abdominal muscle injury. He then dropped out of the Australian Open 2023 due to a leg injury sustained during practice.