Carlos Alcaraz explains 'not that good' haircut after reaching US Open second round
By
SABC Sport
26th August 2025
Carlos Alcaraz has explained that he was forced to shave his hair off following a misunderstanding with his brother, but it did not affect the Spaniard as he reached the second round of the US Open.
Alcaraz had his usual long hair with a stubble beard, but then on the morning of his clash against Reilly Opelka, he arrived with a fresh cut at the practice grounds at Flushing Meadows.
He went on to complete a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory against Opelka for his 19th consecutive first-round win at Grand Slams, joining greats Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal on the list of players to start their major careers with a 19-0 record.
Speaking after the match, Alcaraz said: "Quite different I guess. I felt like my hair was really long already. And before the tournament I said that I really want to get a haircut.
"Suddenly 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 good⦠it's not that bad I guess."
Alcaraz has in the past flown in his barter Victor Martinez â- who goes as "Victor Barber" on social media â- for tournaments in Europe, but it wasn't possible for the tournament in the United States.
"New York is too far away for Victor. I'm not really into hair at all. I'm the guy who thinks like, 'okay hair grows', and in a few days it's gonna be okay I guess. It just happened and thatâ™s it."
