Tennis Hunk Blames Brother for ‘Horrendous’ New Haircut
Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz’s new haircut was generating buzz at the U.S. Open.

Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images
Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz, has shaved off his luscious locks, debuting the shocking look at the U.S. Open on Monday. Despite beating the 6′11″ American player Reilly Opelka in the first round, his buzzcut stole the show. But the world No. 2 Alcaraz, 22, cast blame on one of his brothers for the divisive-do. “My brother misunderstood with the machine he cut it,” Alcaraz said. “And the only way to fix it is to shave it off.” Tennis player Frances Tiafoe, 27, who is a close friend of Alcaraz, weighed in with some harsh comments on the Spanish tennis star’s new cut. “I mean, it’s definitely terrible,” he said on Monday. “He’s my guy, though. It’s funny. I looked at him and I was like, I guess you’re aerodynamic.” Alcaraz’s usual barber, Victor Martinez, even threw shade after seeing the haircut. “I’m hallucinating...,” Martinez texted in Spanish to reporter Ben Rothenberg. “I didn’t expect this.” This isn’t the first time the Spaniard’s hair has caused a stir. In May, he shaved his recognizable beard before a match at the French Open. Alcaraz tried to calm the frenzy around his new cut. “I’m the guy who thinks like, ‘Okay, hair grows,’ and in a few days it’s gonna be okay, I guess. It just happens, and that’s it,” he said.
Frances Tiafoe on Carlos Alcaraz's new haircut:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 25, 2025
"It's definitely terrible... that's my guy though." 😭😭😭😭
pic.twitter.com/QgMHyqzoGw
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
- Account (completed)
- Payment (completed)
- Confirmation (completed)
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
- 1Account
- 2Payment
- 3Confirmation