On the shoulders of Jon Rahm, world number one in golf at the age of 28, and Carlos Alcaraz, number two in tennis at just 19 years of age, is the present and future of Spanish sport. The player from Biscay already has two great titles, the 2021 US Open and the Augusta Masters won this past weekend. In a sport where regularity is an almost unusual virtue, Rahm is confirmed as a sure value. His harvest has only just begun. In the short time that he has been in the season, he has four titles. With his innate competitive character and if his physique accompanies him, he is already walking through his era in world golf. He is the reference.
Staying at the top of this sport is a mission that few have accomplished. At his age, still early in golf, Rahm has won twenty tournaments, has spent 47 weeks at the top of the world ranking and only on the PGA Tour has accumulated nearly 49 million euros in earnings. And he gives the impression that he has only just begun. With two wins in the ‘Big’, he surpasses Sergio García, draws with José María Olazabal and faces the path to reach the height of Severiano Ballesteros, who with five titles is his great inspiration.
With another ball and almost ten years younger, Alcaraz has also revolutionized tennis. By winning the US Open against Casper Ruud in 2022, he broke down all doors to establish himself among the elite. Only injuries, like the one that now keeps him away from the courts, have slowed down the progression of the Murcian tennis player, who is already the heir to the great myth, Rafael Nadal.
Together with Rahm and Alcaraz, Spanish sport still enjoys stars that continue to shine in their modalities. Fernando Alonso seems rejuvenated at Aston Martin and does not get off the podium this Formula 1 season. Carolina Marín, with gold medals in the World Cups and the Olympic Games, continues at the top of badminton. Marc Márquez hopes to have a competitive motorcycle again to fight for another world title in Moto GP. Alexia Putellas has become the undisputed best soccer player on the planet. The canary Santi Aldama, 2.13 meters tall, grows even more in the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. And Spanish cycling trusts that Juan Ayuso, third in the last Vuelta, and Carlos Rodríguez, step on the mark left by Pedro Delgado, Miguel Induráin and Alberto Contador.
Rahm and Alcaraz are the leaders of this new breed of Spanish sport. The Murcian, who became number one in the world, begins to occupy the throne on the courts that he still shares with Nadal, the best Spanish athlete in history ahead of Pau Gasol, NBA star, and Miguel Induráin, winner in five editions of the Tour. Alcaraz has come to give continuity to the good run of national tennis, sustained by rackets like those of Sergi Bruguera, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyá, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Conchita Martínez and Garbiñe Muguruza.
It all started with ‘Seve
In the history of Spanish sports there are a few outstanding dates and milestones: the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and that goal by Iniesta, gold in the 2006 Basketball World Championship, Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam titles, the two rings in the NBA for Gasol, the medals for Manel Estiarte, Gervasio Deferr, Fermín Cacho, Mireia Belmonte, Óscar Freire, Saúl Craviotto, Ruth Beitia, David Cal…
And further back in time there are pioneers such as the tennis player Manolo Santana, the cyclist Federico Martín Bahamontes, the pilot Ángel Nieto and a few footballers, such as José Ángel Iribar and Telmo Zarra, both from Athletic, the club to which Jon Rahm sentimentally belongs. . The Biscayan is the great reference of Spanish sport along with Carlos Alcaraz. The two compete in disciplines with a massive following and that are a magnet for publicity. The echo of his achievements is already reverberating throughout the planet.