Carlos Alcaraz took tennis fans behind the scenes of his professional and personal life in his Netflix documentary, My Way, which was released on April 23, 2025.
Fans expecting to see the lighthearted Alcaraz might have been surprised by his vulnerability and the apparent internal conflict that plagues him, despite his success at just 21 years of age.
I encourage all fans to watch it. It consists of three episodes, filmed in 2024, covering the Grand Slams, Olympics, and concluding with his China Open win over Jannik Sinner. Here are some surprising and intriguing insights I gained from watching it, without sharing spoilers.
Is the Carlos Alcaraz docuseries on Netflix worth watching?
Netflix's English version does not use Carlos Alcaraz's voice in My Way
We learn Alcaraz's story without ever hearing his voice. The English version of the documentary consists of voice-overs. Alcaraz's voiceover is nothing like his voice. I expected captions with his voice, so this was a bit jarring.
Alcaraz has big tennis goals, but the plans he has for his life may conflict
This is where Carlos Alcaraz's fans may worry after watching this. He wants to have fun, enjoy his family and friends, and live a life that anyone would expect of a 21-year-old. Alcaraz wants to be the best player in the world. He wants to be in the conversation with the Big 3, though he is adamant that he is not the next Rafael Nadal, but Alcaraz wants days off and to party with friends.
Though he and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero (JCF), look thoroughly in sync during his matches, they are not always on the same page off the court. JCF tells him what he should not do, such as take ill-advised days off before big tournaments, as he did during instances while the documentary was being filmed.
His team, led by JCF, wonders whether Alcaraz can find the balance of work and fun he seeks. They fear that too much tennis will cause burnout and shorten his career, but too little tennis will impact his ability to reach his goals.
There is deja-vu between Madrid Open 2024 and this year
Alcaraz was injured last year and did not play at either Monte-Carlo or Barcelona. The forearm injury damaged his confidence, and JCF talked about his mental block when it comes to pain tolerance. He did ultimately play in Madrid, but there were question marks last year if he would.
The same is true this year as he deals with the adductor injury from the Barcelona Open final. COPE, a Spanish sports outlet, was the first to cast serious doubts on whether he would play. In fact, Alcaraz did withdraw and will not play in Madrid in 2025.
Garbine Muguruza, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are interviewed
Consistent with the theme of what it takes to become great and sustain greatness (which is much more difficult) over a long career, Grand Slam champions Garbine Muguruza, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer offer their input on how difficult it is to play top-level tennis over years and even decades in the case of Nadal and Federer.
I was surprised that Novak Djokovic was not involved in these interviews, since he was frequently discussed, especially in footage from the 2024 Paris Olympics.