Carlos Alcaraz reveals the man behind his accidental buzz cut

Carlos Alcaraz explained that his new cropped hairstyle at the US Open came from a haircut gone wrong, after his brother accidentally mishandled the clippers during a quick trim before the tournament.

The buzz cut became a talking point at Flushing Meadows on Monday as the second-seeded Spaniard dominated Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, advancing comfortably to the second round.



With six singles titles and a 54-6 match record, Alcaraz enters the US Open ranked No. 2 in the world. The Spanish star is targeting to reclaim the title he won in 2022 while aiming to halt Jannik Sinner’s bid for a repeat triumph in New York.

Alcaraz, who suffered a surprising second-round exit last year, returns this time with renewed momentum, having captured the French Open earlier in the summer and reaching the Wimbledon final. Those results, combined with his proven record on hard courts, have again made him one of the clear favorites to contend for the trophy.

"I felt like my hair was really long already, and before the tournament I just really wanted to get a haircut," the 22-year-old told reporters.

"Suddenly just my brother just -- he misunderstood with the machine. He just cut it. Then, the only way to fix it was just to shave it off. To be honest, it's not that bad, I guess."


Earlier this year at the French Open, Alcaraz had flown his barber, Victor Martinez, from Spain to Paris to give him a stylish fade cut. However, he noted that arranging the same in New York for the US Open wasn’t feasible.


The new style has sparked mixed reactions, the French Open champion added.

"Some people like it, some people don't like it," he said.

"To be honest, I'm just laughing about the reaction of the people. It is what it is. I can't do anything else right now, so I'm just laughing about everything they are saying about my haircut."