Carlos Alcaraz On The Cover Of Vanity Fair Is The Gay Tennis Moment Of The Season
Carlos Alcaraz, the 23-year-old Spanish world number two and the most-watched man in tennis, is the new cover star of Vanity Fair‘s Sports Issue, photographed by Ethan James Green and interviewed by José Criales-Unzueta.
The shoot has Alcaraz rolling around in orange clay in a Louis Vuitton tank top and Nike shorts. With the direct eye contact, the confident smile, the hairy pits, the slight man-spread and his V-shaped torso, he might as well be on the cover of DNA, right?
He is winning the cover and the calendar
In February, Alcaraz became the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam, beating Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the Australian Open final at 22 years and 272 days old. The previous record had stood for 88 years.
He walked into the Miami Open shortly after, carrying a Nike duffel that read “Youngest ever to win the 4 of them,” which was, as Vanity Fair points out, a typically Alcaraz mix of audacity and shrug.
Sincaraz, the bromance that saved tennis
Then there is Jannik Sinner. The pair’s rivalry, nicknamed “Sincaraz” by fans, is the reason a lot of people are watching men’s tennis again after Federer and Nadal.
Their 2025 Roland Garros final ran 5 hours and 29 minutes, the longest in the tournament’s history, with Alcaraz saving three championship points and clawing back from two sets down. Spike Lee was courtside and handed Alcaraz his Yankees hat after the trophy ceremony.
Pharrell Williams, the creative director of Louis Vuitton Men’s, told Vanity Fair that Alcaraz brings “joy, spontaneity, real artistry” to the game.
Mental health, mullets and being very online
The interview is also one of the more grounded ones Alcaraz has given. He talks about wanting “more moments for myself, to do things a 22-year-old guy would do,” about the cost of being on all the time, and about taking mental health as seriously as he takes a wrist injury.
He has since pulled out of tournaments after Monte-Carlo and decided not to defend his Roland Garros title. He also talks about his rotating cast of hairstyles, including the bleached buzz cut that briefly took over the internet under the nickname Buzzcaraz.
At DNA we have been clocking the rise of Carlos Alcaraz for a while now, and not only for the tennis, which is exactly why he landed a prime spot on our Sexiest Men Alive list in DNA #308.
The piece itself notes that Alcaraz “has earned a perennial spot on social media feeds of anyone who is remotely interested in tennis or men.” If you have been wondering why your feed is suddenly all clay-court close-ups, this Vanity Fair cover is the official answer. Read it for the rivalry, stay for the tank top.
