The US Open is underway, and the tournament’s early stages are hitting all of its regular beats: gorgeous late-summer weather, breezy wins for most of the higher-seeded players, Honey Deuce cocktails flowing like water. But on Monday night, one of the sport’s premier stars sent shockwaves through the tennis world as he stepped onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Not with his athleticism, but with his hair.
Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-year-old wunderkind currently ranked second in the world, debuted a fresh buzz cut. Carlitos got the haircut very recently. On Saturday, he was sporting his normal medium-length crop during the Open’s practice sessions.
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But on Monday, he was completely shorn. As it turns out, it’s buzzcut season. The easy haircut is a classic summer move relied on by men for decades. Some recent names to wear the haircut include Drew Starkey, Victor Wembanyama, and maybe Timothée Chalamet? But Alcaraz’s embrace of the style was not entirely intentional. His new look came about after a clipper-related mishap. During a press conference on Monday night, a reporter directly asked Alcaraz about his radical transformation. “Quite different I guess,” Alcaraz quipped. “I felt like my hair was really long. Before the tournament I just said I really wanted to get a haircut. My brother just misunderstood with the machine. He just cut it and the only way to fix it is just to shave it off. To be honest, it’s not that bad.”
Some of his competitors disagree. “It’s horrible,” American player Frances Tiafoe told reporters. “It’s definitely terrible. That’s my guy, though. It’s funny. I looked at him and I was like, I guess you’re aerodynamic.”
