Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his Australian semi-final win by recreating one of Fernando Alonso's famous poses.
The 22-year-old Spaniard arrived in Melbourne as the ATP world number one as well as the tournament's top seed, carrying an impressive 12,050 ranking points at the top of the standings. His celebration after the win mimicked that of Alonso's 2006 win at Suzuka, when the then-Renault driver jumped onto his car, raised a leg, and bowed with his arms pointed outwards after he inherited the lead from Michael Schumacher.
Beating Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, the tennis player reached his first Australian Open final despite struggling throughout the third set. He will now play against either Jannik Sinner or the 10-time champion Novak Djokovic this Sunday in the final.
Fellow Spanish-born Alonso, who joined Renault as a full-time driver the same year Alcaraz was born in 2003, was famous for his many poses during the height of his career in Formula 1. In 2005, he became the youngest F1 world champion the series had seen. In similar fashion, with this recent semi-final win, Alcaraz became the youngest tennis player in history to make the final of all four Grand Slams.
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) January 30, 2026
Alcaraz is an eager supporter of the now-Aston Martin driver. He had previously supported the driver, writing "33 soon" on a TV camera, in reference to Alonso's hunt for his 33rd win.
“I’m spurring ‘Fer’ on to see if he can get his 33rd win in Australia,” he said in 2023 as the two-time champion competed for podiums at the time. “To me it’s crazy what he’s doing at his age. He’s basically in the fight for the Formula 1 world championship. It’s great to have him there.”
“You motivated me for the Indian Wells final!" he later wrote in response to a social media post from Alonso. "You’re an animal!"
“I have to admit that I’ve never been particularly interested in it," he said on F1 at the time. "But Fernando has made me into a Formula 1 fan.
“He’s made me watch races, made me support him. And what better way to support Fernando than with a message on the camera?”
With the X post now reaching over 50,000 likes and almost 10,000 reposts at the time of writing, Alonso may be looking on with confidence as the Silverstone outfit readies itself for the Australian Grand Prix after a successful stint of testing in Spain.
